Kingdom Hearts IV
by Skylar Windsong
Summary: Dark Queen Saga part one. It has been two months filled with peace since Xehanort was defeated. Life has been good for Sora and his fellow Keyblade wielders. But it turns sour when a mysterious girl and a dark storm arrive at Destiny Islands. A new darkness is on its way, and they find themselves trapped once more in a fight to protect everything.
1. Ayané

***prologue deleted due to messiness and giving away slightly too much then I'd care to admit* (if you really want to see it, PM me)**

**Hello and welcome to Kingdom Hearts IV, part one of the Dark Queen Saga.**

**I know, I know, Kingdom Hearts III isn't out yet. How could I be doing a IV? Answer: there's too many good III fics out there, and this fic was begging me to be written, so I wrote it. You can make up your own III storyline but in order for it to work with this fic, here's a couple of points:**

**1. Eraqus is dead. You can say that his heart is inside Terra and yada yada, but for sake of this fic, only his light went into Terra. Eraqus, you ain't coming back.**

**2. Isa is dead. I picture him becoming his own person again and pulling a 'Big Damn Hero' sacrifice in the final battle. Sorry Isa fans.**

**3. Xion is alive, but in a coma while her heart recovers from the events of the Dark Seeker Saga.**

**4. Kingdom Hearts is the source of true light, and with that comes true power and true knowledge. It is possible for all that light to be converted to darkness though.**

**5. Roxas, Naminé and Xion all became their own person (oh and the Wayfinders are all alive and free now)**

**6. SoKai is a thing. Nothing else is yet but SoKai is officially a thing!**

**7. Not the most important but Leon adopted a small orphaned girl he met in Traverse Town. If you'd like to see their story, please feel free to read my fic, My Daddy the Lion.**

**Other note, I've made a tumblr (khdarkqueen) for this series. I'm hoping to get some art up there soon! (and if any better artists want to submit art, PLEASE!)**

* * *

**Chapter one – Ayané**

_Links and memories floating through the night…_

_The things we've forgotten…_

_The things we're yet to forget…_

_I want to know now…_

_What my connection is…_

* * *

_"The things you've done! The friends you've torn apart from each other! We won't forgive you! We'll stop you, no matter what it takes!"_

_"You speak as if you have the strength to defeat me."_

_"I don't… not alone. But… my friends give me strength! Together, we'll use that strength and I swear! We'll defeat you!"_

_"Foolish child! You know nothing of strength! It is the strength of darkness that will lead us to the true Kingdom Hearts and victory!"_

_"Xehan-!"_

A girl woke up with a startled gasp, unable to hear whatever followed next. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before reaching out towards her left and switching on the lamp next to her bed. She glanced at the alarm clock sitting on her bedside table. 7:15. She looked up and sure enough there was sunlight streaming in through her purple curtains.

That was weird. Normally these dreams woke her up earlier than that.

The girl kicked her cover off her and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She grabbed a notebook and pen from the bedside table. She opened it, flicking through the pages. There were various drawings, notes surrounding them. Eventually, she reached the next clean page in the book and began to write.

_New dream last night. It was at a kind of wasteland, except it was filled with those Keyblade thingies… That boy was arguing with that man. He said his strength came from his friends and that they would defeat that man. I think his name is Xehanort or something. Can't remember the boy's name. They mentioned Kingdom Hearts. Still no clue exactly what it is. Different people say different things in different dreams. I get the feeling that whatever it is, it's responsible for me having these dreams. I think this is near the end of the events I've been dreaming about. Just wish I could dream about them in order. It would be easier to piece together._

The girl read over what she'd just written before closing the notebook and placing back down on her bedside table with the pen she'd taken as well. Sighing over everything, she got up off her bed.

These dreams she was having were confusing her… and even scaring her. She would watch several different people, fighting to protect the light. Travelling to different worlds much like how she'd always dreamed about doing. And everything was linked to Kingdom Hearts.

But she didn't know _why_ she was seeing these things. What was her link?

She moved through her small bedroom towards the curtains. She like her room. It was sky blue with a midnight blue carpet. There was a bed with lilac covers against one of the walls. Her desk, chair, drawers, cupboard and bedside table were all made of the same dark coloured wood. Her walls had shelves filled with books, a few photos and some plushies. On a couple of her four walls were posters of a band called DYMND. The curtains that she was now opening were purple.

The girl walked towards her cupboard. She pulled out her usual outfit and began to change out of her blue nightdress. When she was done she was wearing a lilac short-sleeved t-shirt with a sleeveless open blue jacket over. She was wearing a blue skirt and black-and-white striped tights. On her feet were a pair of dark brown laced boots going up to her knees. To complete the outfit, she had a pair of quaver music note earrings and a necklace where a blue crystal hung from a silver chain.

The girl stared into the mirror on the inside of her cupboard. She looked okay in her opinion, with her long dark brown hair that went half way down her back and refused to ever be pulled into a ponytail and bright, emerald green eyes.

This girl's name is Ayané. Sixteen years old.

A buzz from the phone lying on her desk caught her attention. She walked over to her desk and picked it up. A message had just come through from someone called Joanne.

_i dont care if u'v just woken up. lets make the most of no skool. meet us in the den asap!_

Ayané smiled and sent a text back.

_bin awake 4 while now. comin ova now!_

She pocketed her phone and ran out her room. She lived in a three bedroomed flat. The only other rooms beyond bedrooms were the kitchen/dining room/living room and the bathroom. In the main room, Ayané's aunt and uncle were sitting down at the table eating breakfast.

"Morning Ayané," her aunt said, looking up from her bowl of cereal.

"Morning Aunt Hilda, Uncle Gerard," Ayané greeted. "I'm going to see the others. I'll see you tonight!"

"Not so fast missy," Hilda said before she had a chance to even get to the door. "At least eat a slice of toast before leaving."

"Fine," Ayané said in defeat. She'd learnt a long time ago to not argue with her aunt.

Ever since she could remember she'd been living with her aunt, uncle and cousin. Her parents had died in a car crash when she was a baby so she couldn't remember them. As her only living relatives, her aunt and uncle agreed to take her in. They were already raising one child. Another wouldn't be too hard. They'd always been honest with her about her relation to them, which Ayané appreciated. She preferred it when people were honest with her.

"G'mornin," a sleepy voice as Ayané was waiting for her toast.

"Morning Erin!" she called out to her cousin.

Erin shuffled in, her blonde hair messed up slightly and her blue eyes still looked a little vacant. She sat down at the table and started to make herself some cereal. Ayané's toast popped up. She quickly buttered it and sat down as she ate it.

"Honestly Erin. You shouldn't be going to so many late night practices," Hilda tutted.

"Well it's the only time we can fit them in while me and Sierra are still at uni," Erin argued.

"That doesn't mean you should be doing so many," Gerard countered. "You've done gigs with less practice."

"But it's our first one at the Orb! Only bands considered _legendary_ get to perform there!" Erin protested. "We have to get every song perfect!"

Ayané rolled her eyes. She loved Erin, she really did but sometimes her cousin could get obsessed with her band a little. Although, Ayané could get why. DYMND was currently the most popular band in their hometown, Starlight City. And despite her cousin being the main singer, Ayané loved their music too. She quickly wolfed down the rest of her toast.

"Well, the others will be waiting so I need to go," she said, getting up and making her way to the door of their flat. "See ya! Oh and Erin? Thanks for the… y'know."

"Save it. I told you, it was no hassle," Erin smiled.

"Bye Ayané! Be back by ten!" Hilda called out as her niece left the flat.

* * *

Ayané made it to the Den in fifteen minutes. Luckily for her, the old abandoned house wasn't too far from her place. She was greeted by five other teens.

"I thought you said you'd get here ASAP! It's only fifteen minutes from your place!" the blue-haired Joanne complained.

"Aunt Hilda made me eat some breakfast," Ayané explained.

She sat down on the floor next to her friend Grace. Grace was in her usual green dress and her cherry red hair was tied in a braid. Joanne's dyed bob was paired with her usual white tee and black miniskirt ensemble. Their friend Neo was in his usual dark brown hiking trousers with a burgundy hoody covering his black top, his caramel hair pushed back by golden goggles. Lux was in his signature red tee and grey jeans, a red baseball cap covering his silver hair. Rock was in a pair of khaki shorts and wearing his signature black 'TO ALL WHO READ THIS GET OUTTA MY PERSONAL SPACE' t-shirt, long(ish) blonde hair in a ponytail.

"At least you got here before we all turned old and grey," Joanne sighed, plonking herself down next to Lux.

"At least I got these," Ayané grinned, pulling something out of her pocket and throwing it into the centre of the circle. "Free tickets to the next DYMND concert at the Orb."

"Are you kidding?! These cost a fortune!" Neo exclaimed, hastily snatching up a ticket to try and prove it was real.

"I guess being cousins with the lead singer has its benefits," Grace smirked. "Say thanks to Erin, 'kay?"

"Sure," Ayané smiled.

The six friends spent ages gushing over the tickets, pinching themselves to see if they were dreaming. DYMND was a big deal. DYMND playing the venue at the biggest and best venue in the city was a _huge_ deal.

"And you know what the best part is?" Joanne grinned excitedly. "The gas leak at school won't be fixed until three days after so we can go without having to worry about struggling around at school the next day!"

"I thought the music was the best part?" Lux asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Ayané laughed along with Grace and Rock.

"Hey, what should we do?" The blonde teen asked. "We've got plenty of time, let's do something to fill it."

"Shopping. I need to go," Joanne offered, Grace nodding.

"Bor-ring," Neo moaned. "Why not hang near the skate park? I still need to teach Lux my new somersault trick!"

"I agree with Neo," Rock said as Lux put his book away and nodded.

Sighing, Neo turned to Ayané.

"Well Aya? You helped get us the tickets. You help us decide before Joanne and I end up giving each other black eyes… again," he said, using the nickname only he was allowed to call Ayané.

"Well…" Ayané began. "I don't really mind what we do…"

"Man Ayané!" Joanne moaned. "I swear you're the most unsure person ever!"

Ayané opened her mouth to speak but then suddenly everything around her… froze.

She freaked. Hyperventilating, looking around with wide, scared eyes. Nobody but her was moving. She was the only one who could even move a muscle. This. Was. Not. Good. She ran outside to see if there was anyone else around who was moving. Running into the normally busy street, everything was still. People were frozen in mid-step. Cars were no longer running.

"Hello! Is anyone still moving?" Ayané yelled, desperately hoping that she wasn't the only one left.

Nobody answered.

She was alone.

Ayané ran through still streets, trying to find anyone. Anyone who knew what was happening.

Why did weird stuff always happen to her?

Her dreams started a few months ago. At the same time, several people went missing, but when she asked around, people looked at her like she was insane. To them the people who had once been their friends, neighbours, even family… they just didn't exist to anyone except Ayané. And now this. The stillness. The feeling of being alone crushed Ayané, along with the deafening silence.

She collapsed onto a bench, trying to ignore the coupe already on it, frozen while making out. She looked up at the dark clouds slowly moving… to cover… the sky…

The clouds were still moving!

But they looked ominous. Menacing black clouds. Ayané was vaguely aware of her surroundings growing darker. She stood up, looking around.

_"We have come for you… touched girl," _a low voice hissed.

Ayané froze and slowly turned. Then she screamed. Standing in front of her were tall, humanoid figures. They were pure black, save for menacing red eyes and a symbol on each of their chests. A blood red heart with black claw marks across it. One of them took a step forwards.

_"Now… you will come with us… and join the Shadows," _it hissed.

They lunged towards Ayané. Not wasting a second, she turned and ran as fast as she could from the creatures advancing towards her. She got halfway down the street when more appeared, surrounding her. Ayané tried to find an opening; anything that could help her escape these creatures.

Starlight City was filled with alleyways where anyone except for natives would get lost. There was an entrance nearby but… these _things _were blocking her way. There was no escape. Slowly, the creatures advanced towards her. Ayané looked around for something, _anything_ she could use to keep them at bay. To her despair, there was nothing. The creatures lunged. She screamed.

And then… there was a flash of pure white light. And the world faded to black around her.

* * *

Ayané was floating. It was peaceful. She was vaguely aware of the feeling of falling downwards, but slowly. Something appeared in her vision, growing closer as she descended.

It was a circular stained glass window. Depicted on that window, was her. The picture version of her appeared to be sleeping across the middle of the circle, with her arms outstretched near her head and wearing her normal outfit. The background was midnight blue with lilac accents. Running around the circumference of the circle was a pattern that reminded Ayané of the fishtail bracelets she made with loom bands. Occasionally the pattern would change into something that reminded her of the starburst pattern. Small stars were dotted around the window and there were several smaller circles in the picture, each one containing a sun surrounded by a heart.

Ayané felt her body slowly move into a vertical position and eventually, she landed carefully on the strange stained glass window. It was a lot larger then she'd thought it would be, especially as she was now standing directly in the middle. The picture seemed to give off its own glow, illuminating the darkness around it.

_The time has come…_

Ayané turned around, searching for the source of the voice. There was nothing. She was alone.

_You have to fight now… I'm sorry… but this is the path you were always destined for…_

There was something about that voice that was pushing away the silence. It was a kind voice, one that didn't seem threatening in any way. And somehow… it seemed almost familiar. Like she'd heard it before, but couldn't quite remember.

_But how will you fight?_

Ayané whipped around as three stone pedestals rose from the stained glass. Hovering above them was a sword, a shield and a wand.

_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. But… a sword of terrible destruction.  
The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. Power to repel all.  
The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder… and ruin._

_You must choose one strength, and lose another. Make you choice. What will be the path that aids your destiny?_

Ayané stared at the three pedestals, thinking it over. It reminded her vaguely of classes from video games that she'd played with her friends. Warrior. Guardian. Mystic. The trouble was… what would she pick?

"I… don't know," she said finding her voice in the silence. "All of these sound like they need strength but I'm not strong."

She walked over to the sword.

"You said this would give me invincible courage but I'm not a warrior. I don't think… this is me…"

She walked to the shield.

"I want to protect my friends… but… I doubt I'll have the power."

She reached as if to touch it but pulled her hand away. Finally, she walked to the wand.

"You said 'inner strength' when you described this one. If I have that inner strength then maybe, I could find a way to be brave and strong and to protect my friends. This is what I choose."

Ayané reached out towards the wand, and took it into her hand.

_Now which one will you lose?_

Ayané looked at the sword and shield. She wanted the courage she lacked but also the kindness to aid her friends. She wanted both but didn't know which she wanted more. Each could grant her strength, she reasoned, but which could grant her the strength to accomplish the other as well?

But if you want to protect people, you will find bravery in yourself, no matter what.

"I choose to lose the power of the warrior. There are other ways to find bravery and courage."

Ayané felt a thousand years old as she spoke. Earlier that day she had been a normal Starlight City girl, hanging out with her friends while school was shut. Now, she was choosing the path that she would fight on. But she didn't know why she was fighting.

The shield floated towards her and merged with the wand in her hand. The sword faded away and the pedestals the three had been standing on crumbled into nothingness.

_You are wise. To see between the hard lines is something that those with faced with the same choice often can't do. You will become stronger._

Ayané felt the wand in her right hand grow warmer. She watched as it glowed and began to change shape.

_Your true weapon. It will guide you. Aid you as you fight._

The glowing wand grew longer and Ayané felt the handle change slightly. The glow faded and in Ayané's hands was a new weapon. The handle was made of clear glass that gave off a rainbow hue as the light from the stained glass window hit it. The long body looked as if it was made out of crystal and it too gave off a rainbow hue. At the end of the body were key-like teeth, still made out of crystal. There were rainbow coloured ribbons tied to the teeth, wrapping around them and the body. Attached to the handle was a keychain. A golden sun surrounded by a rainbow heart, like the symbols on the stained glass.

A Keyblade. Like the ones in her dreams.

_Do you know what its name is?_

Ayané stared at it. It wasn't uncomfortable in her hand and it felt like an extension of her arm. A name popped into her head.

"Bright Connections," she whispered.

_This weapon is a Keyblade, forged by the light. There is light in your heart. But as with every heart, there is also darkness._

Black shapes formed on the surface of the stained glass. The slowly grew upwards into the creatures that had been attacking Ayané before. There were three of them, all making their way menacingly towards her. Ayané took a step back, lifting her Keyblade upwards.

_It is now your task to keep it at bay. These are Shadows, darknesses that plague the light._

_Fight, Ayané…_

The sixteen year old panicked. She had no idea how to fight these things! Beyond watching a few movies, Ayané had never seen any fighting like this in her life. Except for maybe in those weird dreams. The dreams! Ayané had watched those people fight with Keyblades like hers. She lifted it up higher, trying to mimic the kind of stance they'd used. Taking a deep breath, she lunged forwards, swinging her Keyblade at the nearest Shadow. It wasn't prepared and she sliced right through it, making the thing fade away. The other two jumped at her, knocking her to the ground. Still trying to mimic what she'd seen in her dreams, she rolled away before they could attack again. Ayané got up and ran at the Shadows again, slashing at them. She ducked as one blasted some kind of dark energy at her and thrust her Keyblade into it, making it fade. Before the other could avenge its friend, she swiped at it, knocking it back but not making it fade.

It took a step backwards, red eyes narrowing. It seemed to pull in darkness into itself, making it grow larger. And by larger, I mean _larger_. The Shadow was at least five times bigger than it was before. Ayané stared at in fear, her hand tightening around her Keyblade. How was she going to fight this _thing_?

_Simple sword attacks won't work. You will have to use magic._

"How am I supposed to do that?" Ayané yelled.

_A Shadow is a creature of pure darkness. The easiest way to defeat them is pure light. Focus on producing light. Your Keyblade will assist you. Launch this light from your body. The spell is called 'Sparkra'._

Deciding that it was her best bet, Ayané tried to picture in her mind her launching some kind of light at the Shadow. She subconsciously reached for the light lying in her heart. Her Keyblade began to feel warm in her hands and she could feel it using the light she was reaching for. Taking a deep breath and letting instinct take over, she lifted her Keyblade above her head with both arms.

"Sparkra!" she yelled.

Reacting to the spell she'd just yelled out, her Keyblade drew out the light and moulded it to the desired effect. Ayané stood in the centre as a large white ring of light spun in a rapid circle, carrying several smaller, multi-coloured lights with it. It collided with the large Shadow, damaging the dark creature. It shrunk down to its original size. The spell finished. Seeing an opportunity, Ayané ran towards the shadow and attacked it with Keyblade. The creature let out a noise similar to a howl before fading away. Ayané stood there in front of where it stood, panting from the effort of casting her first spell.

_Always remember, you do have strength in you. There are many battles to be fought._

"You're wrong," Ayané said softly. "That wasn't me. That was my Keyblade that managed to do that spell and only under your guidance. I'm not strong."

_Perhaps… but maybe you have forgotten that strength sleeps inside you. Everyone forgets that. There are others who will help you realise this strength and assist you in letting your abilities grow._

Ayané remained silent. Ever since she was young, she'd always doubt herself and her abilities. Her friends would tease her about it often and try to convince her that she was talented, but she wouldn't believe it. Why was she now believing the voice in her head, which may or may not be a sign of insanity?

_It is time. Open the door Ayané._

A silver door appeared in front of Ayané. Without her doing anything, her Keyblade shot a beam of light at it, unlocking it. Taking a hesitant step forward, Ayané pushed the doors open. She took a deep breath in and step forwards into the doorway.

_Good luck._

The door closed behind her and she was no longer standing on the stained glass. Ayané was vaguely aware of the falling sensation again. There was another flash of white light, much like the one that had occurred when she first came to this place.

* * *

The light cleared and Ayané found herself standing in the middle of the street again. The number of Shadows that were surrounding her had decreased drastically. There were only about five or so left. She wondered where the other ones had gone, and assumed that maybe, they were the ones she had fought in that weird place. The light must have knocked them back because they were all standing further away than they had before.

What was strange, was that her Keyblade was still in her hand.

One of the Shadows noticed that the light had cleared and lunged at Ayané. She lifted her Keyblade to block it. It pushed against her. Ayané felt her legs collapse as it pushed her to the ground. Before it could attack her, she rolled away, wincing as the road scraped against her skin. She got up and attacked the Shadow, hitting it three times before it faded away. Two more Shadows approached her. Simultaneously they attacked her with some kind of dark energy. Ayané cried out in pain as their attacks hit her. She fell to her knees, panting heavily. One of them lunged forwards, but Ayané managed to get up in time and parry its attack. This time she was ready as it pushed against her. She pushed back then quickly ducked down like they did in the movies. It stumbled and Ayané plunged her Keyblade through it. The Shadow faded away. The other launched itself at her but she knocked it away before attacking, and it too faded away.

The remaining two Shadows seemed to share a glance. They then jumped into each other and merged, creating a larger one like the one Ayané fought on the stained glass. But this time, there was no voice to guide her. It lunged at her and Ayané tried to dodge but failed. The thing lifted her into the air and threw her to the ground. She landed hard on the road but through some miracle, nothing was broken. Ignoring the protests of her aching body, Ayané shakily stood up, using her Keyblade to help push herself off the ground. The Shadow began to make its way toward her, ready to strike again.

_The easiest way to defeat them is pure light._

Ayané wasn't sure if that was a memory or the voice speaking to her again. Nonetheless, she remembered what the voice had told her about defeating the Shadows. She closed her eyes and once more focused on trying to produce light. There was a slight tug from her Keyblade and she subconsciously channelled light into it. Ayané lifted the weapon up above her head.

"Sparkra!" she yelled, casting the sole spell in her arsenal.

The ring of white light spun around again, taking the smaller multi-coloured lights with it. Ayané willed more power to go into the spell as it collided with the large Shadow. The light-based spell damaged the Shadow heavily. The spell ended and yet it hadn't faded away yet. Ignoring the protests of her tired body, Ayané ran towards it and jumped, swinging her Keyblade into it. The abomination howled, and it finally faded away. Ayané stood there for a few seconds, shocked that she'd actually been able to defeat it. But tiredness won over and she collapsed to the ground. As everything faded to black, she was vaguely aware of her Keyblade fading away and footsteps approaching her.

"Oh God, they're coming."

* * *

A bright light burned through closed eyelids. Ayané opened her eyes and squinted.

"You're awake!" the voice of Joanne greeted her.

The taller girl pulled her upwards into a long hug.

"Nice to see you back in the realm of the living Aya," Neo joked.

"We were so worried about you!" Joanne said, not letting go of her friend.

"I'm fine Jo," Ayané said, gently pushing her friend off her. "What happened?"

"You just suddenly froze up. There was this weird light and suddenly you're on the ground covered in bruises," Lux explained. "Erin was on her way over to get us some lunch so she came in and helped us get you back here. She's back at uni now."

Here. Here was Ayané's bedroom.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Few hours. You missed lunch," Rock said.

"Come on guys. She's probably tired out. We should let her rest," Grace said, walking towards the door. "See you at the Den tomorrow, right?"

"Right," Ayané nodded. "Bye guys."

Her friends called out some goodbyes as they left. Rock closed the door behind him, leaving Ayané alone in her room. She fell back on to her bed, wondering if everything had just been a dream. The bruise on her arm seemed to say different, as did the dull ache that was plaguing most of her body. Holding her hand up, she tried to summon her Keyblade again, as if to prove it was real. But beyond feeling a tug at her heart, noting happened. Ayané rolled over onto her side. Maybe it only came when she needed it?

She sighed. Maybe her dreams could give her the answers she needed.

What were those things?

* * *

"One day you'll fall asleep and never wake up," a voice said, snapping Sora out of his dream.

"Wah! Roxas! Don't do that! You're as bad as Kairi!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes and being greeted by the face of his 'twin'.

"I don't get how she puts up with you. She has a terrible taste in boyfriends," Roxas laughed, sitting down next to Sora.

The two sat in silence, just watching the waves roll onto the shore. It was the afternoon and the sun had yet to set. They were on the special island where Sora used to play with his friends as a child. Roxas knew the island as well, but only vaguely from the few memories he had from Sora as well as the time he came here with Axel and Xion.

"When did the others say they were coming over anyway?" Sora asked, breaking the silence.

"When they can. Riku's mom gave him a ton of chores and Kairi's helping Naminé finish her homework," the former Nobody grimaced as he said the word. "How did you survive years of having to do that?"

"You tell me," Sora laughed.

The two sat in silence again, the light breeze ruffling their spikey hair.

"It's still hard to believe, that it's all over," Roxas said, still looking up at the ocean.

"I know," Sora replied, glancing at him. "Two months. Still feels like a dream. I'm still expecting to wake up and have to fight Xehanort again."

Two months of peace. Two months of not having to fight the Heartless or the Nobodies or the Unversed. Two months without the constant threat of Xehanort hanging over their heads. Not much had happened since then. Sora and Terra had been name fully-fledged Keyblade Masters by Yen Sid. Lea had gone back to Radiant Garden to help with restoration but he often came over to visit. Roxas had gotten used to life as a normal sixteen year old boy (or at least, physically and mentally sixteen year old body. It had only been two years since his birth) and Naminé had gotten used to being a normal girl, both of them independent with their own hearts, even if they still had slight ties to Sora and Kairi. Xion was still in her coma and it would still be a while before she would wake up.

Roxas was still surprised at how easily the people of Destiny Islands had accepting him. It was accepted that he was now Sora's twin brother. Xion, despite being asleep, was considered their sister. That was fine with Roxas. During their time in Organization XIII they had become as close as siblings and Sora's amazing mother was happy to let the two Nobodies join her family. Something similar had happened with Naminé and the other former Nobody was now considered Kairi's twin.

"It's nice," he said. "To not have to fight. In fact, it's a lot better than I thought it would be like."

Sora smiled and closed his eyes, letting the breeze wash over his face.

_"Chosen of the Keyblade, we have come for you."_

His eyes snapped open and he quickly stood up, Roxas not long behind him. They turned to see ten dark creatures behind them. These things weren't Heartless, and they weren't Nobodies or Unversed either. No, this was something they hadn't seen before. Tall, humanoid creatures. They were pure black except for a strange symbol on their chests.

_"We are the Shadows, and now we will destroy you."_

Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key, and got into a fighting stance. Roxas summoned both of his, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and settled into a similar stance.

"Any idea what these things are?" Sora asked his twin.

"No clue," Roxas replied. "Didn't they say they were Shadows?"

Sora had no time to reply as the Shadows began rushing towards them. The two teens rushed to meet them, readying their Keyblades. Roxas slashed through two with his unique dual-wielding. Sora took out two more. Some of them leaped upwards to try and attack from above. Roxas knocked them away with his Keyblades.

"Firaga!" Sora yelled, launching a fireball at one of them.

The twins ran at the remaining three. Sora plunged his Keyblade right through one while Roxas slashed through the other two. They watched as the creatures faded away. They waited to see if any more would come and attack them but none came. Making sure they were safe, the two let their Keyblades return to the space inside their hearts where they usually resided.

"What were those things?" Sora said.

"I don't know," Roxas replied. "But they can't be good news."

* * *

**And boom. Roll fic. Anyone who's read my fic Twisting and Turning will recognise Ayané, although she's a little different to the small appearances she makes in that fic.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy or anything Disney. Those all belong to the awesome people at Square Enix and Disney. I do however, own any OCs that make an appearance, _with the sole exception of Neo._ Neo belongs to another author on this site, Jetafray Angel. If you guys like Minecraft, check out her fic Deathcraft. It is amazing!**

**Look out for the next chapter, coming ASAP!**


	2. Darkness Rising

**Woohoo! Chapter two!**

**So... cookies to those who've read the story, extra to follow/fave/reviewer(s)! *hands out virtual cookies***

**I've still not got that picture of Ayané up on my tumblr yet, but hopefully should have it up by Monday.**

* * *

**Chapter two – Darkness Rising**

Cloud swore as a burning building collapsed, nearly falling on top of him. The cracks in the sky were opening slowly and darkness was pouring out. This was not what they needed right now. The restoration had been going so well and Cloud had decided to take a break from hunting Sephiroth down in order to help out. The only downside had been ominous cracks in the sky that were leaking darkness. They had tried to persuade themselves that it wasn't anything major but evidently… they were.

"Cloud!" a small voice called out.

The swordsman whipped around to see Lola, the small orphan girl who Leon had found in Traverse Town and adopted. Cloud ran over to the eight year old, slashing through the strange creatures that tried to attack him. He jumped and blocked one from attacking Lola.

"Lola! Are you okay?" he asked, getting a nod in return. "Why aren't you at HQ?"

"Uncle Cid sent me to find you before the things attacked," the girl said, looking around wildly. "But then they came and everything's on fire and I don't know where anyone is and it's like when my old home was destroyed…."

"Lola! Breathe!" Cloud interrupted before she passed out from lack of oxygen. "We're going to get to HQ, okay?"

The small girl nodded. Cloud grabbed her hand and together they ran through the burning streets. Cloud only ever stopped in order to take out some more of those things. He would have like to have gone faster but Lola was young and couldn't run as fast as she did.

"Cloud! Lola!" a voice called when they neared the Restoration Committee HQ.

They turned to see Lola's adoptive father, Leon. He ran up to them, shooting the creatures that were in his way. Before he could get to them however, a pillar collapsed in front of him, cutting him off from his daughter and his friend.

"Dad!" Lola screamed, scared that he had been hurt.

"I'm okay!" Leon called back.

"Leon! Do you know what the hell is going on?" Cloud yelled across.

"No! We're trying to get everyone to the palace! Think you can get Lola over there for me?" Leon asked.

"Sure!" Cloud called, slicing his sword through one of the creatures who had decided to get too close for comfort. "We'll see you there!"

"Keep her safe Cloud!" Leon yelled before running off towards the palace.

"C'mon," Cloud grunted, grabbing Lola's hand.

They ran through the streets again, trying to steer clear of the burning buildings and dark creatures. Cloud kept his sword out and ready to slice through anything that posed as a threat to him and the young girl he had been asked to protect.

"Cloud!" Lola screamed.

Cloud turned around to see two of the creatures jump towards him from different directions. Quickly, he pulled Lola towards him and lifted his sword up, hoping it would block both of their attackers. But before they could attack, two green bolts of energy shot through them, making them both fade away. A small blue alien dropped down from what was left of a tree, landing in front of Cloud and Lola.

"Stitch! Thank you!" the eight year old exclaimed as the blue creature jumped into her arms.

Stitch made a noise that seemed to clearly carry the message that he was glad that his friends were okay. He adjusted himself slightly in Lola's arms so that he'd have a better vantage point and that it would be easier to fire his laser guns. Cloud and Lola resumed running, thankful for the extra help they had received in the form of Stitch. Finally the palace was in sight.

"Everybody get inside quickly!" came the voice of Dilan, one of the guards.

"Cloud! Lola! You made it!" another voice called.

Aerith came running up to them. Without saying another word she quickly cast some healing and strength spells, getting rid of any burns or injuries they had sustained, as well as removing any fatigue. She pulled the two over towards the palace. As she did, a scream was heard.

"They've gotten in here!" somebody screamed.

"Everybody get out of the palace!" Dilan yelled. "Gather in the central courtyard and keep away from these creatures!"

Lola whimpered a little in fear. No doubt she was remembering the time when her old home was destroyed and she lost her family. Cloud gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Lola!" Leon's voice yelled out. Lola turned towards where it had come from.

"Daddy! You made it!" she yelled, running towards her father and hugging him, Stitch choosing to now sit on her shoulders. "Daddy, I'm scared…"

"It's alright, I'll look after you," Leon comforted her.

He locked eyes with Cloud and mouthed a 'thank you' towards him. The blonde nodded in reply before turning his head upwards. The dark cracks in the sky had widened significantly. There was barely a patch of blue sky left. More and more people filed into the central courtyard.

"What are these things?" Aerith asked quietly. "Are they Heartless?"

"These aren't Heartless," another voice said. Lea, the resident Keyblade wielder. "These are something else entirely. But problem is, I don't know what. DUCK!"

Aerith, Cloud and several others heeded his words. Several of these creatures tried to attack the crowd. Lea used one of his signature fire attacks before plunging his Keyblade into the one that he had missed. The Keyblade wielder was wearing his old outfit (just bigger). Beige trousers, red trainers, a white vest top with a sleeveless orange jacket over and a yellow scarf.

"Dammit!" he cursed. "There's too many of the dumb things! We won't be able to keep them at bay for much longer!"

"Can you contact Sora and the others?" Aerith asked, a slightly panicked edge to her voice.

"Hey, I may be a Keyblade wielder as well now but we don't have a secret phone line which we can use to call each other the second the bad guys appear," Lea paused for a second. "Well, I think some of the higher up Masters do but I'm just a lowly wielder."

Cloud rolled his eyes at his antics before tuning to decapitate another one of the creatures.

"Man Ansem had better hurry up and get that cannon ready," Lea said, blasting another.

"Cannon?" Aerith asked as she healed up various people.

"They've built this magic cannon inside the castle, just in case we got attacked again. But it wasn't complete when the attack started. Ansem and the apprentices are busy trying to get it done as we speak," Lea explained.

A sudden bang from the palace made the group whip round to see what was happening. The doors were barely on their hinges and there were scorch marks covering them. Cloud saw the slightly battered figures of Lord Ansem and the apprentices.

"Damn!" Lea cursed. "They haven't finished it."

Before Cloud or Aerith could reply there was a rumble from above. They all looked up to see the mother of all gummi ships: _Highwind Mark III_, Cid's latest model. This ship, was huge. It could probably fit the entirety of Radiant Garden inside it, which, Cloud realised, was exactly what they needed right now.

"Everybody, get into the ship! It will take you to Traverse Town, and hopefully safety!" Lord Ansem yelled.

A hatch opened in the ship and Cloud watched as Yuffie dropped several ladders down and Merlin floated anyone who needed assistance up into the large ship. Cloud watched as Leon climbed up with Lola and Stitch hanging onto his back. He ran over to one of the ladders and climbed in.

Lea was one of the last to get to the ladders. Before he climbed up, he hesitated.

"Lord Ansem!" he yelled across the courtyard. "You need to get up here! The apprentices as well!"

"We will remain here and try to destroy as many of these things we can and stop them from spreading to other worlds!" Ansem answered as Even used his ice shield to repel the approaching creatures.

"But sir! You'd die or have your heart ripped out or something!" Lea protested. "At least let me stay and help! My Keyblade…"

"Is needed to protect the other worlds!" Ansem yelled. "That is your duty as a Keyblade wielder! Get to Traverse Town with the others and contact Master Yen Sid and King Mickey! _Just go_!"

"Lea! I'm going to pull you up!" Yuffie yelled down, pulling the ladder Lea was standing on.

He watched as the creatures began to overwhelm his friends who had stayed behind. He'd failed to protect them.

Just like how he'd failed to protect Isa.

* * *

"And that marks this section as done!" Zack exclaimed, shifting one last brick into place.

"Thanks Zack!" Ventus called as he carried some paint over to Terra.

"Be careful with that beam Herc!" Aqua called.

"Don't worry!" the Greek called back. "It doesn't weigh a thing."

The five were in the Land of Departure, trying to rebuild the sacred Keyblade training ground. When Aqua, Terra and Ven had gone to chase down old friends after the defeat of Xehanort just to say hi and stuff like that, Hercules and Zack were thrilled to see them all again. Hercules had finally been deemed a true hero, and his godhood was given back to him. Zack, who actually came from Radiant Garden and had made a deal with Merlin in order to travel between worlds, had briefly returned home after meeting the Wayfinder trio, only to have his home destroyed by darkness soon after. Zack barely managed to escape. He returned to Olympus Coliseum and trained there, before travelling a little and trying to hunt Maleficent down. With Radiant Garden restored, he began splitting his time between there and Olympus Coliseum. When he saw Aqua, Terra and Ven with Hercules, the subject of what they were planning to do now Xehanort was gone came up. Herc and Zack then offered to help them restore their old home, and wouldn't take no for an answer.

"So you guys going to visit Sora soon?" Herc asked, shifting a wooden beam into place.

"Hopefully. Depends on how much we get done here," Aqua said, using Zero Graviaga to float another piece up towards him. "Would you two like to come? Zack hasn't met any of the gang yet. I'm sure he and Sora would get along great!"

"Lock me in a bunker," Terra said, carefully applying paint to one of the walls.

"Hey!" Zack said indignantly. "Sora sounds like an awesome guy!"

"He is," Ven quipped, carrying some bricks over to Zack. "But when you meet them, don't confuse me for Roxas like everyone else does."

"I met Roxas," Herc said, checking whether one of the beams was secured. "Nice kid. He's Sora's Nobody isn't he?"

"Former Nobody," Aqua corrected. "And don't bring it up around him. He can get a little touchy about it."

"All that Nobody stuff just confuses me," Zack shook his head. "What happened to the days where all we had to worry about where the Unversed?"

The group laughed. True, it did get confusing. The Wayfinder trio had tried to explain everything that had happened to their friends, but some of it just went over their heads.

Aqua carefully lifted another beam with Zero Graviaga, manipulating the anti-gravity field so that she could lift it to Herc. This was nice. Not having to worry about anything, be it Unversed, Heartless or Nobodies. She was enjoying her time back in the Realm of Light. It was weird at first, after Xehanort was defeated. When they tracked down various old friends, it was hard to explain why they were still twelve years younger than they should have been. Aqua was trapped in the Realm of Darkness, where time didn't flow properly. Ven's body was missing its heart, and was therefore unsure of how to do anything like growing. Terra… well, his body hadn't even belonged to him at that time, and not to mention it split when 'Terranort', as they called that incarnation of Xehanort, produced a Heartless and Nobody.

Aqua liked to try and forget all that.

A sudden bang at the door made them all jump, and she nearly dropped the field. Carefully, she let it down.

"Do you think it's Sora and them, coming to surprise us?" Ven asked, ever the optimist.

Terra winced as he felt the familiar feeling of darkness float in through the door.

"No… it's not them," he said.

"Terra? Is everything okay?" Aqua asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Darkness…" he whispered. "I could feel the darkness."

Aqua frowned. Terra summoned his Keyblade, Ends of the Earth. Ven, sensing that something was really wrong, summoned Wayward Wind and readied himself to fight if needs be. Aqua already had Rainfell out, so she simply just settled into a fighting stance so that she could cast quickly if needs be. Zack and Herc shared a quick glance before readying themselves to fight if needs be, Zack drawing his sword and Herc jumping down from the beam he was standing on and readying his fists.

Another bang. Aqua took in a sharp breath.

BANG!

The doors came crashing downwards and a multitude of dark, humanoid creatures came pouring in.

_"We are the Shadows. We are here to destroy you, chosen of the Keyblade, and to claim this ground a territory of the darkness."_

Not wasting a second, Aqua summoned up magic and cast Firaga Burst, getting rid of several Shadows that were advancing towards them. Terra rushed forwards and used his signature Quake spell, taking even more out. Ventus quickly cast Tornado, taking more out. Even though the three Keyblade wielders had taken out a good number of the Shadows with their quickly cast magic, it hadn't made much of a dent in the overall number. Herc and Zack rushed forwards, not wanting to be left out of the fight. The Wayfinder trio also rushed forwards, resorting to physical attacks and magically enhanced physical attacks as their main line of offense.

"There's too many of them!" Zack called out as he took out another one. "We can't keep this up for much longer!"

"But if we run," Aqua yelled back. "They'll take over this world!"

"And if we don't, they'll kill us!" Terra shouted, seeing Zack's side of things.

The five friends tried their best to keep the large group of Shadows at bay. But they were tiring. The number of Shadows was overwhelming. Terra was right. If they stayed much longer, they would die.

"We could always leave and get some back up!" Ven suggested as he cast another Tornado. "Send word to the others!"

Aqua kept casting spells, trying to eliminate as many of the Shadows as she could. Nothing she did could make a dent in their numbers. Zack, Terra and Ven were right. Stay and die. Leave and live. Yes they may lose this world, but they could contact the other Keyblade wielders and get some reinforcements, then come back to reclaim their home. As much as Aqua didn't want to leave the Land of Departure, she knew she had to. Taking out a few more Shadows, she nodded.

"Herc! Zack! Get to the gummi ship; I'll fly you out! Terra! You and Ven use your gliders to get out!" she yelled.

The four boys called out some 'okay's and 'you got it's before they all made a mad dash to the door. More and more Shadows tried to attack them but the trained fighters kept their offense/defence up, not letting them harm them. They made it outside where more Shadows were swarming around them. Aqua quickly cast a few devastating spells, giving Terra and Ven a chance to summon their armour and gliders while Zack and Hercules ran to the gummi ship. Using the few seconds while the Shadows recovered from her blows, she followed in their wake. A Shadow saw her try and escape, and quickly shot a powerful blast of dark energy that hit her in the back, making the Master fall down and her Keyblade spin out of her hands.

"AQUA!" Terra yelled as he watched his friend fall.

He jumped onto his glider and sped over to his friend before the Shadows could attack her while she was down. As Aqua summoned her Keyblade back to her hand, Terra quickly grabbed her and carried her towards the gummi ship, just as several Shadows were launching towards her.

"Thanks," she said, climbing into the ship. "Terra, get to Traverse Town. We'll meet you there."

"Stay safe," Terra said, before zooming off into the sky, Ven following behind him.

"Where are we going?" Zack asked as Aqua readied the gummi ship.

"Traverse Town. We'll meet the others there," she said.

Aqua quickly launched the ship, shaking off Shadows that had tried to climb on. As the ship travelled into the sky, Aqua watched as the Shadows took away the home she had only just come back to.

* * *

Ayané shuddered. Was that a Shadow? No, just a reflection in a window. She mentally slapped herself. Ever since the events of the previous day, she had started to grow a little paranoid. Every small movement in the corner of her eye, a person's shadow moving around, reflections in the steel skyscrapers, made her quickly look and check if it was a Shadow. If it was, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to fight it. Yesterday she'd only defeated those Shadows with the guidance of the voice combined with her Keyblade and sheer luck. Today, she may not be so lucky. And her Keyblade still refused to be summoned again, no matter how many times she tried.

"Hey Ayané! Why are you always late?" Jo complained, dragging her friend into the den.

"I'm sorry," Ayané apologised. "I couldn't get to sleep for ages and it made me wake up late."

"Excuses, excuses," Jo rolled her eyes, pulling Ayané into one of the spare seats.

The other girl wanted to open her mouth and explain that it wasn't an excuse. She'd been up for so long, worrying about the Shadows. When she finally got to sleep, she had been dragged into another dream about Kingdom Hearts and couldn't wake up until the dream finished. But there was no way Ayané could explain all that to Joanne. She hadn't told her friends anything about her dreams. And if she told them what had happened yesterday, they'd think she was crazy.

"Be nice Jo," Grace sighed, putting her phone into her bag.

"I'm just saying that Ayané shouldn't be late so often or make so many excuses!" Jo snapped.

"Lay off her Jo! So what if she's late because of not getting enough sleep? You can't be mad at her for that!" Neo yelled.

The others rolled their eyes. Jo and Neo could get along fine and help each other out when the situation called for it, but otherwise, they'd end up fighting all the time. Neo hadn't been joking the day before when he said Ayané had to him and Jo from giving each other black eyes again.

"Guys, please don't fight," Ayané said, stepping in before things got out of hand. "It's no big deal."

The two shot each other a death glare before sighing and sitting down again. Ayané let out her own sigh, one of relief, before she sat down in her own seat again.

"So what are we going to do today?" Jo asked, getting bored extremely quickly.

"Well…" Grace grinned. "You know how some friends have little trinkets to let each other know they'll always be friends, no matter what?" I thought we could something similar using these…"

She pulled out a box from her bag.

"Loom bands?" Rock asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Right," Grace nodded. "I thought we could all do several using our favourite colours. First we make one for ourselves using our own favourite two to make a fishtail bracelet, then tomorrow we make one using somebody else's until we have all of the different coloured bracelets!"

The other five friends looked around at each other. It seemed like a cool idea.

"I'm in! What about you guys?" Jo said eagerly.

Everyone else nodded. Grace grinned and opened her loom band kit. It was fairly new and there was a decent number of each colour. Grace had gotten a fairly large kit, filled with all kinds of colours. The others gathered round.

"So who wants what colours?" Grace asked. "I'll take bright green and some of those pinky-red ones."

"Yellow and orange for me," Rock said, grabbing a good number of each colour.

"Electric blue and… black!" Jo grinned.

"Red and dark blue," Neo requested.

"You have silver bands?" Lux questioned. "This must be the biggest selection I've ever seen. I'll use those and those forest green bands.

"What about you Ayané? What are your two favourite colours?" Grace asked as she handed out bands to several people.

Ayané thought about it, staring at the box. "I don't know… I've never really liked one colour over the others…"

"Just pick two at random!" Jo moaned.

"Be nice for once Jo!" Neo complained, glaring at her. "Why not use several colours then? Like a rainbow?"

"It would make sense if Ayané had a rainbow for her bracelet," Lux commented. He was met with blank stares. "Rainbows contain the base colours that make up light and all other colours. It connects them all together in a sense. I don't know if anybody else has noticed, but for all her shyness, Ayané's the one who's always breaking up fights. The first to be there when you've had a bad day. She holds us all together. A connector, like a rainbow."

"Right! If it wasn't for her, we may not have all become friends, remember?" Rock agreed.

_Flashback_

_Six year olds filled a school playground. A young boy and girl were arguing over something. Another girl was trying to pull the first girl away, and another boy was pulling the arguing boy away. A third boy was pushing the two fighters away from one another. Unbeknownst to them, a third girl was watching from a distance. The two fighters had been arguing about sweets or something. The girl didn't like watching them fight. She'd gotten to know them all a little. If those two didn't fight all the time, they could have been friends. Swallowing down her nervousness and shyness, she walked towards them._

_"Please stop fighting!" she said._

_The other five turned to look at her. They all knew who she was. The shy girl who the teachers liked because she was clever, but they couldn't get her to speak up in class much. This wasn't like her._

_"I was watching you, sorry," she explained, not realising she didn't have to say sorry. "I don't think Neo meant to knock your sweets away. I think it was an acc-sih-dunt," she said, emphasising each syllable of 'accident'. "I think you could be friends maybe. Would you like my sweets, to make up for yours?"_

_The shy girl held her hands out, holding sweets in them. The girl who had been fighting earlier looked at the boy she'd been arguing with. They shared a look and grinned._

_"Let's share them."_

_Flashback end_

"I remember!" Jo piped up. "Ayané was so happy that we'd stopped fighting, she jumped up in joy and nearly dropped the sweets!"

"It was strange, watching the shy girl who kept out of everyone's way walking up to us like that and speaking to us. Until then, I had thought you couldn't speak at all!" Rock laughed.

Ayané giggled slightly. Rock was right. Back then, she had been shy to the point she could barely speak to anyone. Erin had often tried to get her to make friends, but it wasn't until that day ten years ago when she made any real ones.

"Aya's always been there, connecting us together since then," Neo grinned. "Like a rainbow, like Lux said."

"Thanks everyone," Ayané smiled. "I'll do a rainbow bracelet then."

She grabbed several of each colour she needed. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Working quickly, Ayané hooked the first red band around her fingers in a figure eight and then slid an orange and a yellow band around them. She hooked the red band over the two and put the next band on, repeating the pattern. Everybody set to work, save Grace and Lux, because the former was showing the latter exactly what to do in order to make a fishtail bracelet. Occasionally, somebody would lean over to grab some more bands.

"This way, we'll always be together," Neo said suddenly.

"Huh?" Jo asked, looking up from her bracelet. "What diddya say just then gogglehead?"

"Don't call me that," Neo scowled. "I was saying, we'll always be connected. So long as we have all the bracelets on, we'll always be connected to each other, especially when we have the rainbow one on for Aya. No matter what happens, no matter where we go, we'll all have a special place in each other's hearts."

"When did you start getting so deep dude?" Rock asked as he finished his off, connecting the s-clip.

Ayané laughed slightly. Just sitting here, with the friends that meant more to her than anything else, she could forget about Kingdom Hearts and the Shadows for a while.

* * *

"See you tomorrow!" Ayané called after Lux.

The group had gone shopping for a while, searching through various music and video game stores. After, they had headed off to the skate park briefly. Ayané and Grace watched as the others attempted to teach Lux a skateboard trick. Eventually, he got it after many, many tries. He may be athletic, but his talents lay in running and swimming, not skateboarding. Having enough of skateboarding they headed to the Den for a while before going home. Ayané was walking with Neo, as they lived in adjacent buildings.

"That bracelet looks nice. You're pretty good with loom bands," Neo commented.

"Thanks," Ayané replied. "Yours is really good as well!"

"Thanks Aya," Neo said. They walked in silence a while. "Hey Aya? Is everything okay? You've been a bit off lately."

"How?" Ayané asked, puzzled.

"Well, there was the whole thinking people had gone missing when those people hadn't existed in the first place thing," Neo explained. "Then every morning when we see you, you look as if somebody's been walking over your grave. You're getting tired all the time as well these days. Then yesterday…."

Neo stopped walking and grabbed Ayané's arm before she could continue walking on.

"Neo, I don't know what happened yesterday," Ayané sighed.

"Yeah but it's got something to do with all the weird stuff that's been happening to you!" Neo yelled. "Ayané, you're like my sister! I want you to tell me what the hell is going on! I'm your friend! I'm worried about you!"

Ayané blinked. Neo never used her full name unless he was worried about her.

"Neo… I…" she tried to speak, but no words came out. Tears came instead. Neo pulled her into a hug.

"Like I said, you're like my sister," he whispered. "A nice one. You're my best friend. If you want me to keep it a secret from the others, fine. You've kept my crush on Jo a secret for ages now so it's the least I can do. But please, tell me."

"I can't," Ayané whispered back. "I can't… _I_ don't even know what's happening. Neo… it's scaring me."

Neo hugged her tighter. "If you figure out what's happening, tell me. I'll help you, okay, _little sis_?"

"Don't call me that. Aya's fine," Ayané smiled as Neo released her from her hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he asked.

"Sure. I won't stay for too long though. I told Erin I'd help shift some stuff into the van for her," Ayané explained.

"Oh yeah! Concert day tomorrow!" Neo exclaimed, realising. "If she needs anymore help, I'm happy to shift around some stuff for the band. I'll see ya!"

Ayané watched as Neo ran into his building. She had wanted to tell him what was happening so badly. She'd wanted to tell all of them. But just like when people went missing and only she could remember, they'd think she was insane. And it wasn't like she'd lied to Neo. She didn't know what was happening herself. She walked into her building, trying to ignore the sinking feeling inside her.

The lights cut out suddenly as Ayané started to walk up the stairs.

_"We've found you."_

She screamed. That was the voice of the Shadows. She'd only ever heard that voice once but Ayané could recognise it anywhere. It was a low hissing voice that sent shivers down her spine, and not in a good way like that Morgan Freeman actor's voice did.

Ayané quickly glance over her shoulder to see about three coming towards her. Without even wasting a second to think, she ran as fast as she could up the stairs, praying to whatever watched over the world that she would get to her flat before they caught up with her. She thrust her right arm in front of her, hoping that her Keyblade would come to her. It didn't come. She tried to run quicker but in her haste, she tripped over and fell.

"No! No! Leave me alone!" she screamed, turning around and holding her hands out in front of her, trying to shield herself.

A Shadow lunged and was knocked away in a sudden flash of light.

Ayané stared. In her right hand, she was holding Bright Connections. Her Keyblade. It had come to her. She stood up and ran to the nearest flat piece of ground, somewhere where she could fight a little more easily if she needed to. Hopefully, her luck wouldn't have run out yet. The Shadows advanced towards her. One lunged forwards. Before it could harm her, Ayané ducked down low. The Shadow sailed over head. Quickly, she thrust her Keyblade into it, the pulled it up the length of the Shadow's body, making it hiss in pain and fade away. One of the remaining two Shadows launched dark energy at her. Ayané tried to jump away as quickly as she could, but it caught her foot and knocked her into the wall. Staggering slightly, Ayané stood up straight as the Shadows made their way towards her. Biting back a scream, Ayané breathed in and tried to reach for the light in her. She was going to have to cast it. This was her only hope.

"Sparkra!" she yelled, casting the spell, trying to force as much power into it as she could.

The rings of light spun round. However, it only hit on of the Shadows with enough force to make it fade into nothingness. The other stumbled, but stayed alive. Ayané ignored her tired and slightly aching body and ran forwards, slicing Bright Connections through the final Shadow. It faded away. Ayané looked around wildly, trying to see if there were any more. None came. Her Keyblade faded away, and she was without a weapon once more. Not wanting to wait around in case there were more, Ayané ran through the dark building up to her home. She ran inside and made a beeline for her room.

"Why me?"

* * *

"Sir, I have news to report."

"What is it?"

"That girl… our attempts have failed."

"WHAT!?"

"We do not know how sir, but she seems to be defeating the Shadows we send at her."

"Grr… it seems she is strong enough to handle our weakest Shadows. Try again tomorrow."

"Sir? Are we to use different Shadows?"

"Only a few. We want to save those ones… but if a large influx of weaker Shadows could defeat experienced Keyblade Masters and warriors then….

"She won't have a chance sir."

"Exactly."

* * *

**Checklist for this chapter:**

**- Destroy Radiant Garden CHECK  
- Introduce the Wayfinders and destroy their home CHECK  
- Tease a ship and sink it in within ten sentences CHECK (I think? You tell me!)  
- Creepy villain discussion CHECK  
- Get Kairi and Naminé in on the action DAMMIT! I FORGOT! Oh well, they'll be in the next chapter!**

**Reminder: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney, Final Fantasy belongs to Square Enix, Disney belongs to Disney and Neo belongs to Jetafray Angel. I get nothing from these (profit wise that is. I do get a sandbox to play in though). Only OCs and the idea for the DQ saga belong to me.**

**Confused about who Lola is? Check out My Daddy the Lion, it will explain all!**

**Review/follow/fave and I will give you virtual cookies!**


	3. The Storm

**Apologies for lack of updating. I've been without internet for a while. Would have updating earlier this week but the holidays ended. AND THEY'RE ALREADY DISHING OUT THE PAI- I mean homework.**

**Stuff happens. Big stuff.**

**Warning: Slight swearing.**

* * *

**Chapter three – The Storm**

Kairi kicked a pebble into the ocean. Her 'twin', Naminé, rolled her eyes slightly.

"I don't understand it though!" Kairi moaned. "We've had peace for two months now! Xehanort's gone! There' nothing to threaten us! What are these dumb Shadow things?"

"We don't know. Sora and Riku are trying to contact Master Yen Sid and King Mickey but…" Naminé began.

"I know. Something's blocking any messages they send. We're in the dark," Kairi interrupted.

This time, Kairi and Naminé had made it to the special island first and were waiting for the boys to arrive. The blonde former Nobody was sketching something with the drawing pencils her new adoptive parents had gotten her while Kairi had her Keyblade out and was practising her magic. Riku, Sora and to a degree Roxas had taken over her training after the defeat of Xehanort. Before, it had all been very rushed and in a temporally altered training area so that she could be brought up to a good enough standard to fight Xehanort. It wasn't like they were expecting a Master in a day. Kairi had trained alongside Lea, who surprisingly, she got along with quite well, despite what his Nodody, Axel, had done to her.

"Firaga Burst!" Kairi yelled, trying to cast the spell Aqua had taught during the Wayfinder's last visit.

Fire shot out of her Keyblade, splitting into several smaller fireballs. Naminé watched with interest as the fire shot out. Kairi gave a satisfied nod before returning her Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, to its place inside her heart. The Princess of Heart sat down on the sand next to her twin.

"That was good Kairi. There were a lot more fireballs," Naminé praised her.

"Thanks. Still not as good as Aqua but I'm getting there," Kairi grinned. "What are you drawing?"

"Oh, I was drawing you, practising," Naminé said, showing Kari her drawing pad.

Kairi had a look at the sketch. It wasn't in colour but that was fine. It showed her, standing with her Keyblade raised above her head. There was a look of determination on her face and her mouth was open slightly, as if she'd only just finished speaking. Above her Keyblade was a large fireball, with several smaller ones starting to shoot outwards. Firaga Burst, the spell she'd just been practising.

"That's really good Naminé!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Thanks Kai," Naminé blushed.

Kairi flicked through the book, looking at the other things Naminé had drawn. Instead of Sora and Roxas' memories like her drawings used to be, Naminé had started drawing the things she saw in and around the island. There was Riku leaning against a tree, Selphie and Tidus waving with Wakka punching the air, Paopu trees, Xion sleeping and…

"Naminé! You drew me and Sora kissing!" Kairi yelled, blushing slightly.

"I draw what I see Kairi. Ever since you two got together…" Naminé trailed off, uncertain how to phrase what she wanted to say and live.

"You got me," Kairi sighed, flinging her hands up and handing the book back to Naminé.

The 'witch' had still retained her powers over memory, even after becoming a Somebody. But instead of having power over the memories of Sora and those around him, Naminé could sense (and alter) the memories of anyone she met. On top of this, she had developed an eidetic memory and had the ability to mimic spells and attacks she had seen. That last one would have been much more appreciated if she actually had her own Keyblade though. Naminé could feel that because of her connection to Kairi, the Keyblade had touched her, but her own one hadn't manifested yet. Instead, she had a watered down copy of Destiny's Embrace, much like how Roxas and Xion had used copies of Sora's Keyblade.

"Do you want to practise? I could summon my Keyblade and you can use that!" Kairi suggested.

"It won't work for me. We already tried, remember?" Naminé shook her head.

"Oh, yeah. I remember," Kairi said solemnly. "I just hope you get yours soon. If the Shadows become a major threat or something then you'll need one."

Naminé nodded. Since Sora and Roxas were attacked two days ago, there had been one other Shadow attack. Riku had been walking over to Sora's place, trying to escape his annoying older brothers when several jumped him. Riku wasn't a Keyblade Master for nothing though. He quickly got rid of them. But later when he was telling the others, he told them something disturbing.

"Just being near them made me feel sick. They weren't just darkness. There was pure evil in them as well. I've never felt anything so disturbing. Not even Ansem or Xehanort."

Naminé, recalling memories she'd sensed from Riku, shuddered.

"I hope so too," she whispered, looking up to the sky.

"I wonder when the others are going to get here," Kairi mused, wanting to keep a conversation going.

"Sora and Roxas are checking on Xion, making sure the drip is working. Riku's mother has been trying her best to keep him in the house and away from us," Naminé recalled.

"If I didn't know better I'd say she was just trying to protect him but Jenova… has a reputation for not being the nicest woman on the island. I feel sorry for Riku," Kairi sighed.

"He said once that the sooner he gets out of that house the better," Naminé noted.

"When did Riku say that?" Kairi asked.

"I heard him mutter it once," Naminé muttered, blushing slightly. "Eidetic memory I guess…"

Kairi laughed slightly. It had been strange at first, Naminé remembering every single detail of everything. But Kairi figured that's why her drawings were so good, now that she had a better tool to draw with. It also meant the lucky girl would easily pass her tests at school.

_"Princess of Heart… Memory Witch… we have come for you. Join the Shadows… or be destroyed…" _a low hissing voice stated.

"Shadows!" Kairi yelled, summoning her Keyblade.

The two girls leapt up and saw five Shadows advancing towards them. Kairi quickly cast a Blizzaga at one, making it fade away almost instantly. The remaining four positioned themselves in a circle around the twins. Kairi gritted her teeth.

"Naminé, duck," she whispered.

Naminé did as she was told. She quickly summoned her copy of Destiny's Embrace and began to search through her memory for any spells that would be effective. In the corner of her eye she could see several more Shadows progressing towards them. Kairi noticed as well. She drew up as much power as she could and began to cast.

"Firaga… BURST!" she screamed, launching the fireballs.

The four original Shadows let out a kind of howling noise as they faded away, only to be replaced by new ones. Kairi gasped when she got a good look at her new opponents. These Shadows weren't as tall, but that may be because they were slightly hunched over. They retained a slightly humanoid shape but were much wider than the other Shadows the Keyblade wielders had encountered. Naminé stood up and held her copy in front of her.

"Sparkaga!" she yelled, casting the light spell.

She and Kairi stood in the centre of her spell, three rings of light and multi-coloured light crystals spinning around. The Shadows howled as the light made contact with them, but none of them faded. Naminé put it down to her abilities with her Keyblade copy being weaker than the others. Kairi put it down to these new Shadows being stronger than before.

"How many are there?" she asked her twin.

Naminé scanned around.

"I can see six but I think there's a few more," she said, quickly launching off a Firaga.

"What should we do?" Kairi asked, blasting another with Thundaga. "They're stronger than the other ones!"

"What about…." Naminé thought about it. "Faith! You don't even have to put full power into it! Remember what Riku said? 'If these creatures are pure darkness, then light should defeat them easily!'"

Kairi nodded. Having no darkness in her heart, this made her abilities in magic match. She had an affinity for light-based magic, and any light-based spells were stronger than they'd normally be. This meant Kairi often didn't have to put her full power into a spell and she'd still get the desired affect. Drawing upon the light in her heart, Kairi readied her Keyblade, lifting it above her head.

"Faith!" she yelled, casting the spell.

A beam of white light surrounded her before splitting off into several smaller pillars that span round, colliding with the Shadows in a similar was to how Naminé's Sparkaga had. The dark creatures howled and convulsed slightly as the light tore them apart. Naminé and Kairi watched in one part horror and two parts fascination as the Shadows burst into smaller pieces before finally fading away. They stood back to back for a couple of minutes, waiting for any more to attack them.

"I think… they're gone," Kairi said, panting slightly.

"I think so too," Naminé nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bit tired," Kairi reassured. "I didn't use full strength, but it's been a while since I've used as much as I did."

She let her Keyblade fade into her heart once more as Naminé did the same with her copy. Kairi let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding.

"This… is getting bad."

* * *

"Can you pass me that costume box Ayané?" Erin asked, her blonde hair bouncing in its ponytail as she jumped out of the van.

"Huh?" Ayané asked, distracted.

"I said: can you pass me that costume box?" Erin sighed.

"Oh, here you are," Ayané passed over the desired box, which Erin placed into the van.

The older cousin sighed again. Over the past few months she'd noticed that something was wrong with Ayané. She knew that her friends, especially Neo, had noticed this as well. Grace, Neo and Lux had even come to _her_, asking if she knew what was wrong with their friend. Erin loved Ayané. She was her little sister, even if they were actually cousins. Erin was in her last year at uni, finishing off a long and gruelling Computer Technology course. University and DYMND had been taking up most of her time, but it didn't mean that she'd missed what was happening to Ayané.

"What's wrong?" Erin asked, putting her arm around Ayané.

"Nothing's wrong Erin," Ayané sighed. She was getting tired of everyone asking.

"Sure, there's _nothing_ that's making your friends come to me asking what's up. There's also _nothing_ making you tired and jumpy all the time. _Nothing_ which made you suddenly faint and look more than a little beaten up. Oh, and _nothing_ which made you _cry_ in front of Neo yesterday," Erin said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You saw that!?" Ayané exclaimed, blushing a little.

"I was walking over to Sierra's place and I saw you two," Erin explained, sarcasm gone from her voice. She pulled Ayané closer. "I'm with Neo. I want you to tell me what's wrong. You're also like my sister. I don't want you to be hurt."

Ayané felt tears well up in her eyes again. She was tired. Tired from lack of sleep and tired of everything that was happening to her. She wanted to cry so badly, like a little child, but deep down, she felt as if this was be the worst possible thing to do. It wasn't as if she could just tell Erin what was happening.

"I don't know Erin… I don't know," she whispered.

"That's okay," Erin smiled, squeezing her in reassurance. "It's okay to not know. But remember, there's people who are looking out for you. We'll help you."

"I know, thanks Erin," Ayané smiled, returning Erin's hug.

The two cousins resumed packing the van with various pieces of equipment, the last bits and bobs that needed to be taken over to the Orb for later. It was really just outfits and a couple of instruments. Erin made sure nothing would topple over before slamming the doors of the van shut.

"Is that everything?" Ayané asked.

"Yeah. Nothing else left for us to pack up," Erin smiled. "I'm gonna head over now. I probably won't see you until after the concert. Have fun!"

"Thanks! I'm going to go meet up with the others! I'll see you later!" Ayané waved, running off towards the Den.

Erin climbed into the driver's seat of the van and started it up, watching as Ayané made her way towards her friends. She noticed the bright rainbow-coloured bracelet on her right arm. There were no other bracelets on there as well yet. Erin remembered what Ayané had told her about the fishtail bracelet. It was a shame Grace's sister had stolen her kit. It meant they wouldn't be able to make any more today.

"I promised to protect you," Erin muttered. "Why can't I?"

* * *

Aqua landed the gummi ship into Traverse Town First District with a jolt. She'd been flying through all of the night and most of the day; her body was begging her for sleep. At least Herc and Zack had managed to get some sleep. They were awake now. The two had been constantly worrying about their own worlds. Were Radiant Garden and Olympus Coliseum okay? They hoped so. The Shadows may have been attracted to the Land of Departure because of it being the sacred training ground of generations of Keyblade wielders. Their homes were nothing like that. It was a sick sense of relief.

"Is this Traverse Town?" Hercules asked, taking in the world they were now in.

"Right," Aqua nodded. "This world appears when people are in need of a place to go."

The three climbed out of the gummi ship and looked around. The sky was dark and filled with stars. The main source of light, however, were numerous streetlamps filling the town. They shed light on the dark brown, brick buildings. What surprised Aqua, was that there people milling around. Realisation dawned upon her.

Her home wasn't the only world consumed by darkness.

"Aqua!" a familiar voice yelled.

"Terra!" Aqua called back.

Terra and Ven came running towards the ship. They were no longer in their armour.

"We got here a minute ago. You guys?" Terra asked.

"Just," Zack replied before Aqua could say anything. "I guess we're not the only ones who got chased here."

They looked around at the people who were busy sorting out buildings, hauling the few possessions they took with them around. Zack gritted his teeth. He swore that was somebody from Radiant Garden. Had his world been taken too? What had happened to his friends?

"New people!" a small voice yelled.

A young girl came running up to them, her auburn pigtails bouncing she stopped short and studied the five from head to toe before a look of recognition appeared on her face.

"You're that Zack man who I saw in the Garden!" she exclaimed, pointing at Zack. She then pointed at Aqua. "And I saw you once when Sora came to check on the world! Your name is… err… Aqua!"

"You're Squ… Leon's daughter right? Lola?" Zack asked, crouching down to be eye-level. Lola nodded. "Why are you here?"

"These things attacked Radiant Garden," Lola said, looking sad. "Uncle Cid took us to Traverse Town in his big ship. Radiant Garden was destroyed. We've been here for almost a week."

"What!?" Zack yelled. "They destroyed there too?!"

"Easy Zack," Terra said, putting his hand on Zack's shoulder. He looked at Lola. "How many people escaped?"

"Most of us. Lord Ansem and his apprentices stayed behind. Cloud thinks they're gone now," Lola explained. "You need to come with me. Dad wanted me to tell him if I saw any new people."

She led the five friends through Traverse Town and towards the hotel. Aqua was the only member of the Wayfinders who had ever been to this world before. She recognised the streets and even some of the people from her brief visit to Radiant Garden after she was rescued from the Realm of Darkness. It was saddening, to see so many people who have just lost their home.

Terra wanted to break something. He'd never been to Traverse Town. Sure his body may have when Terranort briefly came here for one reason or the other but Terra had never seen this world. This was a place for refugees and it showed. There weren't very many children, but the few that were there held on tight to their mothers and fathers. The adults looked tired. Their clothes showed a week's worth of grime. He inwardly cursed the Shadows and the darkness.

Why did it always have to tear people from the things they held dear?

"They're in here," Lola said, leading them through the hotel doors and up a flight of stairs.

"I told you! I can't contact them!" a voice yelled.

"Calm down! Arguing will get us nowhere," another voice interjected.

Lola pushed open the doors to one of the rooms. "I've got new people!"

Several people turned towards the group standing in the door way. Leon, Cid, Aerith, Merlin, Cloud, Scrooge McDuck and Lea. Lola ran over to her dad as the rest of the group stepped into the room.

"Squall!" Zack exclaimed, getting a glare. "Sorry, Leon. You guys are okay!"

"Yeah. We got out in time. But the Garden…" Leon trailed off.

"Lola said," Zack said, bowing his head slightly.

Leon glanced over the people who had entered. He recognised Zack and vaguely remembered Aqua, a woman who he'd met through Sora. But the other three were a mystery to him.

"Zack? Your friends?" he asked.

"Oh right! This is Herc, Terra, Ventus and-"

"Aqua. We've already met," Leon interrupted.

Hercules looked around. He'd never left his world until he went to help his friends rebuild their home. Traverse Town was unlike anywhere he'd ever been. He understood this was a place for refugees who escaped their worlds as they were being destroyed.

"Has anyone come here from Greece? My world?" he asked.

"No. Not anybody I recognise. I don't think that world was destroyed," Cloud said, closing his eyes.

"Thanks," Herc said warily. He recognised Cloud as the man Hades had sent to kill him. The man who spared Sora's life in the Coliseum.

"Why are you guys here? We haven't sent for help yet," Lea asked.

Terra and Aqua shared a look.

"The Land of Departure… was destroyed."

A gasp went travelled through the room. It wasn't just their world. Others were being destroyed as well.

"That's insane! That place is supposed to have defences for something like this! Master Yen Sid-!" Lea began yelling.

"Master Yen Sid is right," Aqua explained. "It is supposed to have a defence. But we've already used it once before and I didn't have a chance to do it again."

Lea nodded, understanding. He knew about Castle Oblivion. He remembered the place from his time as Axel. It's where the Organization had tried to steal Sora's Keyblade using Naminé. It's where they had found Ventus sleeping.

"So that's two worlds destroyed. Probably more. I thought all of… that… was over?" Aerith wondered out loud.

"Xehanort may be gone but that doesn't mean there aren't any people who wish to use the darkness," Terra muttered darkly. "He may be gone, but we might not be safe."

He met eyes with Leon.

"True. You should get some rest. You can help us contact Sora and King Mickey later," the gunblader said. "Just take any room where the bed doesn't look like it's been slept on."

"Thanks."

Leon watched as the group left the room in search of somewhere to rest. He sat down at a chair and rubbed his temples.

"Dad? Are you okay?" Lola asked.

"I'm fine Lola," Leon replied. "Just a little worn out."

"Hey, I think you should see this," Lea said from his spot by the window.

Everyone in the room rushed over to see what he was looking at. They looked up at the sky, watching as several stars blinked out. Nobody said a word. They all knew what it meant.

* * *

_'Don't you dare!  
Just stand there!  
You're a part of this mess!  
You have a job to do!_

_Don't you dare!  
Run away!  
From the path you're on!  
There is no choice!'_

Ayané watched as Erin sang at the top of her lungs. The crowd screamed and cheered as she sang into the microphone. Stage lights lit everything up in an array of different colours.

The Orb was an amazing place. Situated in the centre of Starlight City's maze of skyscrapers, it was a large dome shaped building. The reason it had its name however, was the fact that underground, the dome shaped into a sphere. The stage was on a raised platform that rose into the centre of the orb and seats/standing areas surrounded the stage and the many jumbotrons that showed exactly what was going on.

Ayané stood breathless as her cousin changed from the kind, if somewhat sarcastic, person she was normally into a woman who took no shit from anyone. She jumped up and down as she watched the band play through one of their most famous song: _No Choice._

_'If you ever gave a damn,  
Maybe things would be different!  
If I ever gave two whats,  
Maybe I wouldn't hate you!'_

DYMND launched into a new song, _All's fair in Love and Hate_

Ayané watched as the crowd became electrified. The band gave their all and it was breath-taking to watch them perform. Being Erin's cousin, she'd seen almost all of DYMND's performances but never had she seen anything as amazing as this. She sang along with the rest of the crowd, forgetting about Kingdom Hearts and the Shadows once more.

_'All's fair in love and hate!  
I never ever could stand you!  
All's fair in this ugly game  
I think I'll stick to hatin….-!'_

"Arrgh!" Erin screamed as the lights shattered.

The Orb went dark, save for glowsticks and phones belonging to members of the panicking audience. Ayané felt her heart beat faster. This was just a power-cut, they can happen, this had nothing to do with the Shadows, it would be okay, any minute now the lights would come back on.

"What the hell's going on?!" Jo yelled.

"I-I-I don't know," Ayané stuttered.

"Aya? Are you okay?" Neo asked.

"This isn't supposed to happen," Lux said, frowning in the darkness.

"No duh genius," Rock groaned.

"ARRGHHHHH!" somebody screamed.

A dull light settled over the Orb. Ayané's eyesight adjusted to the light. When her vision settled, she screamed. Shadows. Lots and lots of Shadows. They were swarming into the Orb. Several landed on the stage, right next to Erin, who knocked them off with a guitar.

"RUN! JUST RUN!" the singer screamed to her audience.

Nobody needed to be told twice. There was a mad dash to the exits. Ayané turned and ran as fast as she could. Why did they have to come? Why tonight? She felt someone pull her to the side before she got trampled on by the rest of the manic crowd.

"Be careful," Lux said before grabbing her arm and running.

"Where are we going? Where are the others?" Ayané asked, noticing that the rest of their group was missing.

"We all got separated. We'll meet them outside!" Lux yelled over the screaming. "Do you know what those things were?"

"Why would I know?" Ayané demanded.

"Because of how you went white and screamed when you saw them! Because these have something to do with you, don't they? They have something to do with the weird things happening to you!" Lux yelled.

Ayané gasped. He'd worked it out. The Shadows were coming after her. It was no surprise. Lux was the smartest person she knew. There was no point hiding it now.

"Yes! They do have something to do with all the weird things around me!" she screamed. "They're here… for me!"

As she yelled, Lux let go of her hand in surprise. Before he could grab it again, the crowd surged and the two friends were separated. Ayané yelled out for Lux but if he responded, it was swallowed by the noise of the crowd. She kept running, until finally the crowd dispersed a little and she got outside. What she saw wasn't a pretty sight. Shadows were swarming, overwhelming anybody unfortunate enough to run into one. Ayané held her hand out, praying for her Keyblade to come.

_"Please! I need you! I can't do this!"_ she begged silently.

She felt a slight tug in her heart. Was that her Keyblade?

"Please," she whispered. "Please. It's my only chance."

Satisfied perhaps by her begging, the tug lurched and her Keyblade appeared in her hand. Nobody stopped to stare at her. They were too busy trying to run for their lives. Ayané kept running, deciding that she'd only stop and fight if a Shadow got in her way. She had to get home. She had to see if her family were okay.

"Ayané!"

"Neo!" Ayané exclaimed. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know," Neo said, panting as he ran alongside his friend. "I got separated from Grace and Rock, I haven't seen Lux. Jo… she's…"

The tears in his golden eyes told Ayané everything. She wanted to burst into tears on the spot but _they had to keep running!_

"What's that?" Neo asked, noticing Ayané's Keyblade.

"It's…." she didn't know how to explain it. "It's a Keyblade. And Neo, if we get out of here, I promise I'll tell you everything."

"Okay," Neo nodded, too scared to press any more on the topic.

They kept running through the streets. Past the rest of the running crowd. Past the people the Shadows were attacking. Ayané wanted to help them so bad but she and Neo had to keep running. They had no choice. No choice.

"LOOK OUT!" Neo screamed as a bolt of dark energy shot towards Ayané.

The pair ducked as quickly as they could before standing up. Ayané noticed they were surrounded. Fighting off the urge to scream, she began to ready her Keyblade. She hissed at Neo to duck. Not bothering to ask why, he complied. Ayané lifted her Keyblade above her head.

"SPARKRA!" she yelled, putting her all into the spell.

Not one, but two rings of light span around her this time, colliding with Shadows. Ayané wasn't sure why but she was thankful. Neo watched as the Shadows faded.

"How did you do that?" he asked incredulously.

"It's complicated," Ayané replied. "I'm not that sure either. But we need to keep running."

Neo had no objections to this. He stood up and began to run. Before they'd even gotten ten metres he noticed a Shadow lunge towards Ayané. He knew it was going to hit her.

So he pushed her to the side and let it hit him instead.

The world moved in slow motion for Ayané.

It hit Neo.

He screamed.

He turned to her, smiling.

It knocked him down.

"RUN AYA!"

It made him… disappear.

She ran. She ran like she'd never run before, tears blazing in her eyes. Neo was gone. Gone. She didn't want to believe it. She had to believe it. Her best friend, the friend she secretly thought of as a brother, was gone. The Shadows didn't notice her as she ran. They were too busy killing people and destroying the skyscrapers of the city. She ran until she got to a large street where not many Shadows were. For the first time that night, she noticed it was raining. The rain fell down as she dropped to her knees, exhausted. She sobbed.

"AYANÉ! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" a voice yelled.

Erin ran up to her cousin. Ayané was too upset to even wonder how Erin had caught up with her. Her cousin was still in her black costume. She pulled Ayané up.

"Why did you stop? You need to keep running!" Erin yelled.

"Neo! They… they… they killed Neo!" Ayané sobbed. "And they already killed Jo and they've probably killed the others as well!"

Erin pulled Ayané into a hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the distressed girl. "But you can't let their deaths be in vain. You have to keep running."

"Where? Where can I run to?" Ayané asked, staring her cousin in the eye.

"I don't know…" Erin admitted. "But you have to keep running. There'll be a light that will guide you to safety."

"But… but! How will it take me anywhere safe?"

"Just keep running! If the Shadows jump at you just knock them away! Don't stop running! Even if you get tired out! DON'T STOP!" Erin screamed at her. "I promised to keep you safe. If you don't run, that promise would have been for nothing. Go. I love you."

"I… I… love you too, big sis," Ayané replied, letting Erin know that she was her sister in all but genes.

She didn't even question how she knew what the Shadows were called.

Giving Erin a final hug, she pulled away and began running through the rain. She would not stop. She would never stop. Shadows lunged at her but Ayané remembered Erin's instructions and knocked them aside with her Keyblade. She wouldn't even stop to cast Sparkra. The storm grew in the sky. She didn't know how long she'd ran for. But there was no way she could stop.

Her body screamed for rest. She didn't listen.

It felt like hours, it felt like days but slowly, the streets faded from view and everything faded to pure white light. Ayané didn't stop running. She ran until her eyes closed and she felt her body collapse. The light faded to darkness and she suddenly felt as if she was lying down.

Ayané bolted up and opened her eyes. She was in a room, filled with machines but had no idea what they were. The room was on fire. But her vision was blurry so she couldn't make out any more details. Her Keyblade was still in her hand. This wasn't where she was supposed to go.

She ran. Ran to a door and through a burning corridor.

She ran.

She ran until the light came again. She collapsed into it and let it carry her away.

* * *

"Shit!" Riku swore as his boat crashed over the waves.

The storm had been sudden. He was going over to the special island to meet the others when his mother had finally released him from his chores. It was late evening and they were planning to eat on the island. As he was rowing over, the storm suddenly started and he was having a hard time getting to the island. Riku tried to stay calm as he kept on rowing. Going back to the main island wasn't a choice. He needed to get to the others.

There was something about this storm… it reminded him of the one he and Sora had fought the Phantom Ursula in at the beginning of their Mark of Mastery exam. It was just a small feeling. Like it was going to start something. If anything, Riku was now just praying that it had nothing to do with the Shadows.

He wouldn't be able to take it if he lost his home to darkness again.

"Just keep on going," he said through gritted teeth.

The rain made his silver hair stick to his head. His clothes were soaked through. Oh he was going to have the mother of all colds after this. Riku flung his head upwards as he tried to keep on rowing, his arms straining from the effort. Funny; even though there were storm clouds he could still see stars poking through. The lights at the heart of the different worlds.

He blinked. He swore that one of the stars was shooting across the sky. It meant that a world was changing.

Did it have something to do with the Shadows? Probably.

But what shocked Riku, was that it was splitting into two. A smaller light split off from the shooting star. The larger one suddenly stopped moving and vanished. The world had been destroyed. But the smaller one kept moving. Riku watched it as it slowly grew bigger, like it was coming closer. He watched as the light broke through the storm clouds before splashing into the water. He scrambled to the front of the boat. It hadn't fallen to far from where he was. In fact, he could see what it was.

A girl, who was floating unconscious on the waves.

Riku did something incredibly stupid. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get the boat to her quickly enough. But if he just left her, the girl would die. So he leapt into the water and swam towards her. Riku was a strong swimmer, but it was still hard to swim over the waves. He went under them and swam as fast as he could to the girl. She was starting to slip underneath the water. Riku pulled her upwards and towards him. He could hear breathing but she wasn't awake. Luckily for the both of them, Riku's boat still wasn't too far away. He powered over the waves as fast as he could, making sure that the girl's head was kept above the surface. Unceremoniously, he flung her on to the boat before climbing on.

"Are you awake?" he yelled pointlessly. He knew the girl still unconscious.

Rowing as best he could, Riku tried to get to the island as fast as possible. The girl was shivering slightly. He wouldn't be surprised if she too ended up getting an almighty cold. He powered over the waves. If he got her to the others, they could all take shelter in the cave or somewhere and get a fire going. They both needed to get warm. He ignored the ache in his arms and gave a final push with the oars, getting to the jetty. Slinging a rope around one of the wooden pillars sticking out, Riku pulled the boat closer and carefully lifted the girl onto the jetty before climbing on himself.

"Damn… storm…" he cursed under his breath.

Riku lifted the girl up and carried her bridal style. Her dark hair fell away from her face, which showed an expression of discomfort, even though he was unconscious. Riku ran off the jetty.

"Riku! You made it!" the voice of Sora yelled. His best friend came running up to him. "Hey man! We were worried that you wouldn't get here because of the storm! Wait, who's that?"

"I don't know," Riku replied. "But she's soaked through. We need to get her somewhere warm. Where are the others?"

"We're in the cave. C'mon!" Sora yelled, running towards the cave.

Riku followed, trying to make sure that he didn't drop the girl in his arms. He could feel her shivering. They ran into the cave and Riku was grateful to see the light of a fire already burning. He ran through the cave.

"Riku! You're safe!" Kairi exclaimed upon seeing her friend.

Responding with only a 'yeah' Riku made his way towards the fire. He carefully placed the girl down in front of it. Colour returned to her skin instantly.

"Who's that?" Roxas asked, repeating his twin's words.

"I don't know who she is. I was rowing here and a light shot across the sky," Riku explained. "It split into two and she came from one of them."

Kairi quickly checked the girl's vital signs. There was breathing. There was a pulse. She was just a little cold but thankfully the fire was warming her up. The red-haired teen noticed a few cuts and bruises littered about the strange girl's body. She cast a Cura on the girl and watched as the cuts sealed and the bruises faded. The look of discomfort on the sleeping girl's face faded and colour returned completely to her cheeks.

"She'll be okay," Kairi smiled. She turned to Riku. "Are you okay? You look freezing!"

"I'm alright," Riku shrugged. Nonetheless, he moved closer to the fire.

Naminé watched as her twin checked the girl. She got out her drawing pad and a pencil and began to sketch the sleeping girl, taking in the details of her face. Roxas moved over to see what she was doing.

"I wonder who she is," he said, looking over at her.

"We'll have to wait until she wakes up," Naminé mused, checking to see if she'd gotten the face shape right before starting on details.

"Let's hope this storm passes soon," Riku said, looking towards the entrance of the cave. "We can take her to the main island, look after her there."

The girl moved slightly in her sleep but did not wake. They kept watch as they waited for the storm to pass. Perhaps tomorrow would bring more answers.

* * *

_"It's beginning. Again"_

_"Is it?"_

_"Yes. I'm not blind."_

_"I never said you were."_

_"…. This world… its connection is strong."_

* * *

**And shit has happened. So I've killed a few people. (Okay, an entire city).**

**And there's foreshadowing. Lots and lots of foreshadowing. Anyone want to guess what?**

**Got the next couple of chapters written so the next update will be quick. Reviews make me happy!**


	4. Questions and Answers

**A shorter chapter but needed I guess.**

**Next chapter won't have as much exposition, I promise.**

* * *

**Chapter four – Questions and Answers**

"Your majesty! Your majesty!" the barely legible voice of Donald Duck, Royal Mage, yelled.

The duck came running into the throne room of Disney Castle, babbling incoherently. He ran straight up to the throne where King Mickey had been talking to the Captain of the Royal Guards, Goofy. The two turned round to see the duck in a state of panic.

"Donald? What's wrong?" Mickey asked.

"The stars are going out again! Worlds are dying!" Donald yelled.

"The stars are going out? But I thought Xehanort was defeated?" Goofy asked, puzzled by this new piece of information.

Mickey thought this over. He'd noticed the stars going out as well and had already contacted Master Yen Sid. Later that day he was going to travel to the Mysterious Tower and discuss this alarming news with his former teacher.

"Just because Xehanort's gone… it doesn't mean that there's nobody out there who will use the darkness to destroy the peace!" he muttered darkly.

"Garwsh King Mickey, do ya think it has something to do with those Shadow thingies that have been popping up in the town?" Goofy asked.

"Maybe. I think so," Mickey said. "I need to talk with the queen."

He got off his throne and began to make his way towards the door of the throne room. Donald and Goofy had nothing better to do so they followed him. Mickey had no objections to this. They made their way through the castle, past the magical brooms that were sweeping up. Queen Minnie and her friend Daisy were in the royal gardens, having a nice chat.

"Oh! Mickey!" Minnie exclaimed upon seeing her husband.

"Hello Minnie!" Mickey smiled. "I'm afraid I've some bad news."

"Is this about the Shadows?" Minnie asked. Mickey nodded his head. "I'll let Chip and Dale know that they need to have the gummi ship ready to fly."

"How did you know that I was leaving?" Mickey asked, puzzled.

"Because whenever darkness threatens the peace, I know you'll always go to stop it," Minnie smiled. "I know you need to see Mater Yen Sid. Be careful, okay?"

"And Donald, you'd better not be gone for too long this time!" Daisy reprimanded. "And you'd better said me some letters as well!"

"Yes Daisy," Donald nodded. "I won't forget!"

Mickey hugged Minnie before setting off for the castle hangar. He could already hear Chip and Dale readying the gummi ship.

"Do ya think we'll get to see Sora and them?" Goofy asked.

"I hope so!" Mickey replied.

He walked through the castle with his two best friends, trying to shake the sense of foreboding off. Deep down, Mickey knew that something big was about to happen. Several blurry memories floated through his head, but he couldn't quite recall exactly what they were.

Whatever they were, they couldn't be that important, right?

* * *

Riku and Sora were keeping watch in the room where the mysterious girl was sleeping. And by keeping watch, I mean playing a video game. The upside to Sora's house was the number of guest rooms they had. It meant that Roxas could take one for his own room and they could have Xion sleep in another and there'd still be a room spare. That spare room was currently where the girl was resting.

"Has she woken up yet boys?" asked the soft voice of Izumi, Sora's mother, she entered the room with a tray full of drinks. "I brought some water over and I wanted to know if she needed anything."

"No Mom, she's still asleep," Sora said, grabbing a glass of water off the tray.

"Oh well. I'll leave her glass here then so that she can have some when she wakes," Izumi smiled.

"Thanks for the drink," Riku said, taking his and placing the girl's down on the bedside table.

"Poor thing," Izumi said, looking at the girl. "Didn't you say that her world had been destroyed?"

"I think so," Riku said. "We won't know until she wakes up."

Izumi moved the blankets slightly so that the girl wouldn't get cold. Brushing her chestnut hair out of her eyes, she smiled softly at the girl. It was like when Kairi came to the islands. No doubt that when the girl woke up she'd be lost and confused. She hoped that Sora would do his best to make the girl feel safe.

"I'm going to check on Xion. Let me know when she wakes up," she said, leaving the room.

Riku and Sora went back to their game as they waited for the girl to wake up.

"…uh…"

A small sound came from the bed. Pausing the game, Riku and Sora moved over towards the bed, where the girl was shifting around.

"Hey, are you awake? Can you hear me?" Riku asked.

"Wh…where…?" the girl asked, her eyes opening slowly.

"Take it easy," Sora said. "You had a rough fall."

The girl's eyes opened further. They moved around slowly before landing on Sora and Riku. Startled, the girl bolted upwards, her emerald eyes wide with fear. Sora and Riku took a step back, trying not to frighten the girl. She looked around wildly, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she asked, her breathing slightly erratic.

"Calm down. You're safe," Riku reassured her.

"Where?" the girl asked again, pushing away from them.

"This is Destiny Islands. You came here during the storm last night," Riku explained. "Well, by came, I meant fell from the sky."

The girl looked at them. There was a vague flash of recognition in her eyes, as if she'd seen them before but only briefly. Her shoulders had tensed up and her breathing was still fast. Riku and Sora shared a quick look. The theory that her world had been destroyed probably wasn't too far off. She looked severely distressed.

"My name's Sora and this is Riku!" Sora said cheerfully, hoping that she'd calm down a little. "And you are…?"

"Ayané," the girl said quietly. "My name is Ayané."

"Can you tell us where you're from?" Riku asked.

"Starlight City…. the city!" Ayané exclaimed. "Oh God… oh God…. It's, it's… nononono!"

"Hey, calm down," Riku said as she panicked. "It's okay. You're safe here. Do you want to tell us what happened?"

"There were… these things… Shadows… and they…" Ayané tried to explain what happened but the words wouldn't come out. "They just… destroyed _everything_."

Sora and Riku shared another quick look. So her world had been destroyed. And the Shadows had done it. They'd become even more of a threat now. Tears slipped from Ayané's eyes as she recalled what had happened to her home. It became clear to Sora and Riku that she was the only one who made it out by some miracle. They decided to give her some space.

"We'll be outside if you need anything," Sora said as he closed the door.

Sora and Riku walked in silence through the small hallway.

"What do you think happened to her?" Sora asked.

"I don't know," Riku admitted. "But it can't have been good."

"I didn't know the Shadows could destroy worlds though," Sora said. "Do you think they're like the Heartless?"

"They might be. We need to contact Master Yen Sid though. If anyone knows what they are, it's him," Riku replied, sitting down on a couch.

"Hey guys," Kairi greeted, entering the house with Naminé in tow. "She awake yet?"

"Yeah," Sora replied. "Just woke up. She's a little upset right now though."

"Why's she upset?" Naminé asked, taking a seat.

"Her world was destroyed," Riku explained. "And I'm guessing she's the only one who made it out."

They sat in silence for a while. Sora felt sympathetic. He knew what it was like to lose your home and be (even though it turned out he wasn't) the only survivor. Kairi thought back to the faint memories of Radiant Garden that Naminé had helped her recover and the ones she had of Destiny Islands. Losing your world was scary.

"Do you know her name?" she asked.

"Ayané," Riku said.

"What's with the gloomy atmosphere?" Roxas asked, walking in from Xion's room.

"The girl woke up," Naminé replied, moving over so he could sit down.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Roxas questioned.

"She's really upset at the moment," Sora explained. "She just lost her world. The Shadows destroyed it."

"Ahh," Roxas nodded, realising. "Does she have a name?"

"Her name's Ayané," Sora said.

The group sat in silence, trying to shake off the bad feeling they were all having. Their thoughts were torn between trying to puzzle out what the Shadows really were and worrying about Ayané. Riku sighed inwardly. There was a connection.

But what was it? Was it the obvious… or not?

* * *

Ayané sat on the bed. She was alive. But to be honest, she didn't know if that was a good thing or not. She was the only one left. That light had carried her to safety. Only her. Nobody else had escaped the destruction the Shadows had caused. Harsh reality came crashing down on her and she let out a strangled sob. Her friends were gone. Her family was gone.

"Why…" she whispered to herself.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Destiny Islands. She remembered this place from her dreams. This was the home of that boy she often saw in them. Sora. Sora and his best friend, Riku. They were real. Not just people she'd dreamed up. It was strange, knowing their names now after not being able to remember for so long. She stood up and walked to the window.

Why was she here? She wasn't strong or anything. It wasn't as if she could fight alongside these people. Beyond her dreams, she had no connection to them. They were strangers to her. Ayané sighed as a storm of thoughts rushed through her head. She absentmindedly held her right arm out as if she was trying to summon her Keyblade.

It materialised in her hand.

"What the-?"

Okay. That was new. Before it would only come when she was being attacked by Shadows, never any other time. Ayané held it up, letting the light catch the crystalline weapon. She noted that the minor injuries she remembered getting while running from Shadows had faded. Somebody must have healed her. Ayané willed her Keyblade to go back to her heart and it obeyed. That was interesting. Before it would just vanish on its own accord when the nearby Shadows had all been defeated. Strangely, she wished that the voice was there with her. It seemed to know a lot about Keyblades. It could explain this to her.

In. Out. In. Out. Ayané took several deep breaths, getting her body to relax. It wouldn't. Another sob rose up through her. She fell down onto the bed. This was her fault. If she hadn't been so weak, her friends would be alive still. Starlight City wouldn't have been destroyed. More sobs shook her body as tears streamed down her face.

She lay there for a while, crying for her lost friends. Her lost family. After a few minutes, the tears stopped coming. Sitting up, she noticed a glass of water on the bedside table. Somebody must have left it there for her. Ayané picked it up and drank the water. Having something to drink calmed her down. Putting the glass down, she moved over to the door, but didn't open it.

_"What are you waiting for?" _the memory of Erin whispered. _"At some point we all just have to… open the door."_

Taking a deep breath, Ayané opened the door. Inwardly she hoped that she would be able to face the questions that would surely come. She stepped out into a narrow hall. Following the sound of voices, she walked down a set of stairs, her legs shaking slightly from not being used for several hours.

"…but what if Yen Sid doesn't know what they are? How will we know what they're capable of?" a voice asked, one Ayané vaguely recognised but couldn't remember the name of who it belonged to.

"We already know that they are capable of destroying worlds," another voice replied, this one female. "They're like Heartless."

"Did anyone else just hear footsteps?" a third voice asked.

Ayané paused by the door where the voices were coming from. She heard shuffling as somebody got out of their seat and made their way to the door she was standing by. The door opened and Ayané was greeted by the ever cheerful face of Sora.

"Hey Ayané! Glad to see you're okay! Come in, there's some people I want you to meet," he smiled, gently pulling Ayané into the room.

The girl took in her surroundings. A fairly large room with a TV, some sofas, a couple of arm chairs and large windows that let in sunlight, bathing the room in a golden glow. The sofas and chairs were circling a table with a plate of sandwiches on. There were four other people in the room, besides her and Sora. There was Riku, a girl in a white shirt and pale blue skirt with blonde hair, a girl in a pink dress with red hair and a boy in a white jacket and beige-y coloured trousers with blonde hair. Ayané recognised them vaguely from her dreams but yet again couldn't remember their names.

"This is Naminé," Sora said, pointing at the blonde girl. "Kairi-" redhead. "-and Roxas!" blonde boy.

"Hello," Naminé and Kairi chorused while Roxas just said 'hey'.

"H...Hello…" Ayané stuttered slightly.

"Why don't you sit down and have something to eat? You were asleep through breakfast," Sora pointed out.

Sitting down in an empty chair, Ayané grabbed a cheese sandwich and began to eat it. She was very aware of the silence that had started to smother the room and the glances being flung her way. All she wanted to do was sink into her chair or turn invisible. Or maybe just wake up from whatever dream she was having. Her shy nature got the better of her and anything she may have wanted to say to get rid of the silence never made it out.

"So Ayané… are you okay? You were injured when Riku found you and I did my best to heal you up. Any pain, discomfort, that sort of thing?" Kairi asked, trying to break the silence.

"No, I'm okay," Ayané replied. "Thank you though, for healing me up."

Kairi smiled warmly but noticed that Ayané was looking more than a little uncomfortable. It was the subtle things: the slight red tinge to her cheeks, the fact that she was directing her eyes away from everyone in the room and looking at her feet instead. The silence held the room once more. This time, it was broken by Riku.

"So Roxas, how's Xion?" he asked the blonde boy.

"She's fine. Still asleep but I swear I saw her move a little. Her breathing is a lot steadier these days as well. I'm hoping she'll wake up soon," Roxas replied, thankful for something to break the silence.

"When she does she can help out with our little Shadow problem," Sora laughed. That caught Ayané's attention

"Shadow problem?" she asked. "They're here too?"

"Right," Roxas replied, a serious tone in his voice. "They attacked me and Sora one day. Then they attacked Riku and then Kairi and Naminé. Yesterday and so far today we haven't had any attacks. But we're worried."

"They destroyed your world, didn't they?" Naminé asked quietly. Ayané nodded silently. Naminé put her hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset!"

"It's okay," Ayané smiled weakly. "I know you didn't."

Kairi and Naminé quickly exchanged a glance. They could see how uncomfortable Ayané was and Naminé could practically feel the distressing memories coursing through the shy girl's mind. She didn't press any further, but she wished she could do something for her.

"Ayané? How exactly did you escape the Shadows?" Riku asked.

Mentally, Kairi slapped him. Several times. Why were people so dense at times? Couldn't he see that Ayané was still distressed? Said girl looked up at him before turning her head away slightly.

"I… don't know," Ayané began. "I can remember my cousin telling me to run and just to keep on running. So I did. Eventually, this light carried me away. It took me to this weird room. I just kept running, out of the room and the light came again. Then I woke up here."

Nobody missed the tear that travelled down her cheek when she mentioned her cousin.

"Do you know if anyone else made it out?" Roxas asked hesitantly.

"N…no… I was the only one," Ayané shook her head. More tears unwillingly spilt from her eyes. "I'm sure."

"But the fact that you made out means that others might have as well!" Sora insisted. "We'll just have to look for them in other worlds!"

Ayané looked at him. "They can't have… I saw… I saw them die!"

The girl tried to slow her breathing down before she burst into tears again. The others all shared a look before Kairi got out her seat and walked over to Ayané.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want," she said, smiling. "If you want to stop, that's fine."

"Maybe you should go and rest a little bit?" Naminé suggested, standing next to her twin.

Ayané nodded and got out her seat, making her way towards the door. Maybe she shouldn't have come downstairs yet. She needed to calm down.

"Do you know which room you're staying in? It's the same one you were in earlier," Sora said.

Again, Ayané just nodded as she left the room. Still fighting back tears she made her way back to the room she woke up in. Finding it easily, she went in, closed the door and collapsed onto the bed, sobbing.

"I'll see you at the island tomorrow, right Riku?" Sora asked as his friend turned to leave.

"Sure. We'll explain everything to her then," Riku nodded.

"I feel kind of sorry for her," Sora said.

Riku nodded. The sun was setting now. Ayané had spent most of the afternoon in the room she was sleeping in, only coming out for something to eat and then only because Izumi managed to persuade her. From what the group of Keyblade Wielders could piece together, the poor girl had watched as her world was destroyed, even watching some of her friends 'die'. They were still unsure exactly what happened to the victims of Shadows. Did they die or lose their hearts?

"We can take her to Yen Sid. He'll know how to find her friends," Riku said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right," Sora nodded, going back inside his house.

Turning away, Riku walked through the paths of the island, towards his own house. He thought about Ayané, the girl from the storm. Riku had a suspicion that the Shadows had something to do with her. Not like she was controlling them or anything, but maybe they were after her. He shook his head. Where had that come from? Her only link with the Shadows was that they had destroyed her home.

"Where have you been, brother?" a sneering voice asked. "Mother's been looking for you."

"Kadaj," Riku said evenly. "I was with my friends."

"You know Mother doesn't like you staying away for too long," Kadaj reprimanded his younger brother. "When you didn't come home last night, she sent Yazoo and Loz looking for you. I only joined in today."

"I was at the island when the storm came," Riku replied. "When we finally got back to the main island it was late and Sora's place was closer."

The two silver haired brother's locked eyes with each other. Riku may not like his family that much, but out if his three older brothers Kadaj was the only one he could stand (in small doses). He respected Kadaj.

"Then why didn't you come home today?" the older asked.

"We were talking. Keyblade related thing," Riku said, avoiding mentioning Ayané.

"You really hate home that much, don't you?"Kadaj said softly. "Mother never seems to appreciate you. Is that why you left?"

Riku was taken aback. He'd never told Kadaj anything. His older brother was more perceptive than he'd thought.

"Maybe," he replied, turning his head. "There were other reasons as well."

"You're just waiting for the chance to leave that house for good now though," Kadaj said.

Riku didn't reply, he just walked away.

* * *

"Aqua's sent a message to Master Yen Sid. He'll contact Sora and the others for us," Terra said to Leon.

"Thank you," Leon nodded. "If worlds are falling to darkness, we'll need all the help we can get."

The two men stood in silence for a while. Leon had become the de-facto leader for the refugees from Radiant Garden. The gunblader was now the person to discuss any plans with. Over the past two days, Terra had found himself forming a friendship with the man.

"Have any new refugees come?" he asked.

"Several from Atlantica surprisingly. Aerith was keeping them alive with magic while Cid tried to sort somewhere out for them to stay. Lola was surprised to see real life mermaids," Leon said. "Has Ventus got back yet?"

"A few minutes ago. Hercules' world was fine," Terra replied. "Except they noticed a few dark cracks in the sky."

Leon sighed as he poured himself and Terra a glass of water. Something big was happening. Everything was in danger again. The peace he had come to love was gone.

"Terra, why is this happening?" he asked.

"I don't know," Terra replied evenly. "All I know is that darkness is coming."

"Aqua and Ven, they're your family?" Leon questioned.

"Yes…" Terra replied hesitantly. "Why do you ask?"

"I would give anything to make sure Lola and the others are safe. I know you'd do the same for them," Leon said. "I just want my family safe Terra. You understand that."

Before Terra could reply Cloud burst through the door, sweaty and panting.

"We've got some injured refugees. Aqua's with them. Lola's gone to get Aerith. Come," he panted.

The three men ran out the hotel and towards the centre of First District, where the injured refugees were. There was a group of about five. Two women and three men. One of the women, a teenager by the look of it, with green hair was talking to Aqua as the Keyblade wielder healed her comrades. The girl was sporting a gash on her left arm but had less injuries than her friends. Leon ran over.

"My name is Leon," he said to the girl. "There's more help coming. Can you tell me what's happened?"

"I'm Tina," the girl replied. "We were attacked by these strange creatures. There were black and some had red eyes with a weird symbol on their chest and some had yellow eyes but no symbol. They overwhelmed us. I used magic to get the five of us away but they killed everyone else. They hurt the others, badly."

"My friend Aerith is on her way. She can help heal you," Leon said.

"Cura, Esuna, Curaga," Aqua muttered, casting spell after spell. "How long were you fighting them before you managed to escape here?"

"A few hours maybe?" Tina replied, uncertain.

"I'm here!" came the voice of Aerith.

The healer rushed towards the injured group, Lola behind her. No sooner than she had knelt down next to one of the men did she begin casting diagnostic spells and healing spells.

"We need to move them somewhere else. The hotel should do. Lola? Could you run over to the item store and ask Cid for some potions? Meet us back at the hotel," Aerith said, her voice serious.

"Okay," the eight year old replied, running over to the store.

Aqua cast Float on the injured party, sans Tina. The teen was being supported by Aerith as they made their way towards the hotel, which also doubled sometimes as a hospital when people were injured. They found several empty rooms. Aqua carefully lowered the injured party onto some beds. As she did, the other woman woke up.

"Wha…?" she muttered.

"Celes, you need to rest. I'll explain later. I got you, me, Locke, Edgar and Sabin out. I'm sorry, but everyone else is gone," Tina explained sadly.

The woman shifted slightly. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure," Tina replied. She looked at the others in the hotel room.

"This is Traverse Town. A sanctuary for anyone whose world was taken over by darkness," Leon explained.

"I've got the potions!" Lola exclaimed, running into the room.

Aerith took the potions off the small girl. She gave some to Tina and Celes before feeding small amounts into the mouths of the unconscious refugees. Giving Aqua a nod, they began to cast a few more spells, doing their best to heal the numerous injuries littering the injured party's bodies.

"Cloud, get me some hi-potions from Cid. Lola, there's some bandages in a bag in my room. Leon and Terra, no job but I'll need you to leave the room so I can concentrate. Aqua, just keep casting," Aerith ordered.

Various people left the room to obey the orders given to them by Aerith. As Lola was running to Aerith's room, she bumped into Ventus.

"Lola, right?" he asked, stopping her from falling. "What's going on?"

"More new people," the girl explained. "But they're hurt. Auntie Aerith and Aqua are healing them. Cloud's gone to get more potions. Daddy and mister Terra are waiting outside and I'm looking for bandages."

As Lola ran off to find the bandages for Aerith, Ven made his way towards Terra and Leon, who were waiting outside the hotel room where he presumed the new people were being healed.

"Another world destroyed?" he asked.

"Afraid so," Terra nodded gravely. "Only five escaped."

"What's this about another world being destroyed?" came the voice of Lea. "Shadows again?"

"And Heartless from the sound of things. Only five got out," Leon explained.

Lea inwardly swore. If the Heartless were getting involved, this was bigger than he thought.

* * *

**If anyone dares complain about the Tina/Terra thing, _I know_. BUT in case you haven't noticed, we have a Terra already. So no complaints guys.**

**Reviews/follows/fave make me happy and I will send virtual cookies!**


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